Deoxycholic acid
![Skeletal formula of deoxycholic acid](/Images/godic/202502/11/Deoxycholic_acid3226.png")
![Ball-and-stick model of deoxycholic acid](/Images/godic/202502/11/Deoxycholic_acid_3D_ball3226.png")
![White powder in a stoppered glass vial](/Images/godic/202502/11/Sample_of_Sodium_deoxycholate3226.jpg")
![Colonic epithelium from a mouse not undergoing colonic tumorigenesis (A), and a mouse that is undergoing colonic tumorigenesis (B). Cell nuclei are stained dark blue with hematoxylin (for nucleic acid) and immunostained brown for 8-oxo-dG. The level of 8-oxo-dG was graded in the nuclei of colonic crypt cells on a scale of 0-4. Mice not undergoing tumorigenesis had crypt 8-oxo-dG at levels 0 to 2 (panel A shows level 1) while mice progressing to colonic tumors had 8-oxo-dG in colonic crypts at levels 3 to 4 (panel B shows level 4) Tumorigenesis was induced by adding deoxycholate to the mouse diet to give a level of deoxycholate in the mouse colon similar to the level in the colon of humans on a high fat diet.[26] The images were made from original photomicrographs.](/Images/godic/202502/11/Colonic_epithelium_mouse_without_tumorigenesis_(A)_and_with_tumorigenesis_(B)._Brown_shows_8-oxo-dG3226.jpg")
Deoxycholic acid (conjugate base deoxycholate), also known as cholanoic acid and 3α,12α-dihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid, is a bile acid. Deoxycholic acid is one of the secondary bile acids, which are metabolic byproducts of intestinal bacteria. The two primary bile acids secreted by the liver are cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid. Bacteria metabolize chenodeoxycholic acid into the secondary bile acid lithocholic acid, and they metabolize cholic acid into deoxycholic acid. There are additional secondary bile acids, such as ursodeoxycholic acid. Deoxycholic acid is soluble in alcohol and acetic acid. When pure, it comes in a white to off-white crystalline powder form.