What is albumin on a blood test?
Albumin is the main protein your liver makes.
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The short answer
Albumin is the main protein your liver makes. It carries hormones, vitamins and medicines around your bloodstream and holds fluid inside your blood vessels. Low albumin can point at liver problems, kidney loss, poor nutrition or ongoing inflammation, so it's always read in context. At Epicentre it's R79.
What does Albumin measure?
Albumin makes up more than half the protein in your blood. Your liver produces it, so how much you have says something about how well your liver is working, but it also drops when protein is being lost through the kidneys, when nutrition is poor, and whenever there's significant inflammation going on.
That breadth is why albumin appears on almost every panel and why it's almost never interpreted alone.
It also explains something that confuses people. Globulin isn't usually a separate test. Your report calculates it by subtracting albumin from total protein, which is why globulin appears on a result you don't remember ordering.
What does a high or low Albumin mean?
Before reading anything into either, remember how reference ranges work. They're built so that 95% of healthy people fall inside them, which means roughly 1 in 20 perfectly normal results sits outside by definition. A single flagged value in an otherwise normal panel is common, and the pattern across related markers matters far more than any one number.
Not sure whether you need this on its own or as part of a panel? Tell us what you're trying to find out.
Ask us on WhatsAppSee all 102 markersWhat else affects Albumin?
These are the things that move the number without anything being wrong, and they're worth knowing before you worry about a result.
- Hydration
- The most common reason for a slightly high result, and a reason to arrive properly hydrated.
- Inflammation
- Albumin falls during any significant inflammatory process, independently of your liver or your diet.
- Pregnancy
- Blood volume expands, which dilutes albumin. A lower result is expected.
- Lying down versus standing
- Posture during the draw shifts it slightly, which is one reason small differences between tests aren't meaningful.
The functional view
Albumin is a good marker of how well the whole system is provisioned, which is why the functional view treats it as a general indicator rather than a liver test.
It reflects what your liver is producing, what your gut is absorbing, what your kidneys are holding on to, and how much inflammation is going on. Any of those slipping shows up here before it shows up as a diagnosis.
A slowly falling albumin inside the normal range, in someone who feels increasingly tired, is the kind of pattern a single reading will never reveal.
Where this marker sits in the bigger picture
Cellular transport
How things move around and between cells. Albumin is the body's main carrier protein, so it belongs to transport as much as to the liver.
This is the thinking behind the functional health report that comes with every blood order at Epicentre. It places each marker on a scale that shows the optimal band as well as the standard range, ranks what needs attention, and compares each result to your last one. Two people with the same "normal" can get very different reports.
Worth being clear about the limits, though. Functional optimal ranges are educational reference recommendations rather than diagnostic thresholds, they are not universally agreed, and a value inside a standard laboratory range is not a disease. What the functional view offers is a direction and a conversation, not a verdict. Both readings of your result are useful, and the standard one is still the one your doctor works from.
Which markers is it read with?
Total protein R79, since globulin is the difference between the two. The full liver function panel at R522 puts albumin next to ALT, AST, gamma GT, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin.
Albumin test
R79Walk in at any branch, no appointment and no doctor's referral if you're paying cash. Results in 2 to 5 working days, and every blood order comes back with a functional health report that puts each marker on a plain-English scale at no extra cost.
See it on the test list Ask us on WhatsAppWhich packages include Albumin?
Albumin is on 19 panels, almost always inside a liver function panel rather than as a line of its own.
Includes albumin.
See what's included →R902Medication Safety and Organ FunctionIncludes albumin.
See what's included →R1,090Bodybuilding Health Blood TestIncludes albumin.
See what's included →R1,409Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)The broad organ-function panel.
See what's included →R1,991Athlete Performance Blood PanelIncludes albumin.
See what's included →R2,181Men's Annual FoundationIncludes albumin.
See what's included →Plus 13 more panels that include albumin. See all packages or tick your own on the pricelist.
Worth reading next
Where can I test Albumin in South Africa?
All three are open Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:00, and closed on public holidays. Medical aid rates are roughly 20% higher than the cash rate and generally need a doctor's request with an ICD-10 code.
Basically
Albumin is R79 at Epicentre and you don't need a referral for it. One result slightly outside the range is common and usually means very little on its own. What matters is the pattern with the markers it's read alongside, and whether it has changed since last time.
Frequently asked questions
What does low albumin mean?
It has several possible causes and needs context. Your liver makes albumin, so liver disease is one. Kidney disease can cause it to be lost in the urine. Poor nutrition or malabsorption reduces the raw material. And any significant ongoing inflammation lowers it independently of all three. In pregnancy a lower albumin is normal because blood volume expands.
What is globulin, and why is it on my report?
Globulin is the rest of the protein in your blood once albumin is taken out: antibodies and carrier proteins. It usually isn't a separate test. Your report calculates it by subtracting albumin from total protein, which is why it appears without your having ordered it.
Can dehydration raise albumin?
Yes, and it's the most common reason for a mildly high result. Dehydration concentrates your blood, so everything measured in it reads higher. Arriving properly hydrated makes the result more representative.
Is albumin a liver test or a kidney test?
Both, and neither on its own. Serum albumin reflects liver production, nutrition and inflammation. Albumin in the urine is a different test, the albumin to creatinine ratio at R316, and that one is an early marker of kidney damage.
What is the functional range for albumin, and how is it different?
A standard laboratory reference range is statistical: it is built so that about 95% of a reference population falls inside it, and it is designed to identify people who need treating. A functional or optimal range is narrower and asks whether a result is drifting in a direction that may matter over time, even while it stays inside the standard range. Functional optimal ranges are educational reference recommendations rather than diagnostic thresholds and are not universally agreed. A result inside a standard laboratory range is not a disease. Epicentre includes a functional health report with every blood order, showing each marker against both ranges alongside the standard laboratory result your doctor works from.
Other markers explained
This page is general health information and not a medical diagnosis. Epicentre Aids Risk Management (Pty) Ltd, practice number 1117394, provides diagnostic laboratory testing: we don't diagnose, prescribe or treat, and results are intended to inform a consultation with your doctor. Medically reviewed by Dr Samantha Naidoo, MB ChB, FCP (SA), Medical Director. Prices are 2026 cash rates including 15% VAT and can change without notice. Reference ranges vary between laboratories and your result prints with the range that applies to you.