The intended use of the melatonin in Advanced TUDCA is to function as a driver, which helps push the product deeper into your system. This optimizes effectiveness without affecting established sleep patterns.

What is TUDCA (Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid)?

TUDCA is a bile acid derivative that occurs naturally in the body. Like many compounds in your body, TUDCA is made through a microbial process.

Firstly, bile salts are released into your intestines through the liver bile duct. Microbes in your large intestine then metabolize the bile salts into ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Next, it gets conjugated to taurine (an amino acid) in order to create TUDCA. This whole process happens naturally in your body and is supported when you have a healthy amount of bile salts.

A healthy person produces very small amounts of TUDCA, recycling about 95% of their bile salts via enterohepatic circulation (the process that occurs when bile is absorbed through the intestines and returned to the liver via the hepatic portal vein). However, poor diet, decreased liver function, and certain medications can impair this process.*

Although humans only make small amounts of TUDCA, this bile salt influences many bodily functions, from the brain to kidneys function to eye health and more, which is why TUDCA supplementation can be beneficial.

The Role of TUDCA in the Body

TUDCA is a bile acid — but what does that mean? Bile represents a complex fluid made of bile acids, phospholipids, cholesterol, water, electrolytes, and other organic molecules. Bile acids are the most functional component of bile. They help us digest and absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, break down food and cholesterol, and destroy harmful pathogens that enter the digestive system on our food.* Through these processes, bile helps the body eliminate waste, excrete unnecessary cholesterol, and regulate your metabolism. In particular, bile acids convert and eliminate around 500 mg of cholesterol from the body every day.

How is bile produced? The liver produces bile, which is concentrated and stored in the gallbladder, then secreted into the digestive system via the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine beyond the stomach).  Bile travels through the digestive system until it is recycled and sent back to the liver once it reaches the ileum. Only 5% is excreted, the rest is recycled and repackaged as “new” bile in the liver. This process is known as enterohepatic circulation.

Recycling and producing new bile is a very energy intensive process for the body. If your liver and gallbladder are overburdened or a little sluggish, creating new bile becomes even more difficult. That’s where TUDCA supplementation can be helpful, often alongside ox bile and digestive enzymes.

Is TUDCA Supplementation New?

No. TUDCA has been used therapeutically in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia, particularly for hepatic and biliary disorders. Namely, traditional medical practitioners prescribe TUDCA to help detoxify the liver, treat “heat illnesses” such as fever, spasms, and vision problems, and improve many other conditions.