What does AST/SGOT mean?

What could AST/SGOT mean? What is it? What does it do? Where can you find it? Why is it there where it is? If you ever asked yourself these questions, you’re in the right place. The following explanations will help get a clear image of what AST/SGOT actually is.

Let’s start from the beginning:

As you already know, your liver is made up of cells. Let’s stop here and think: the cell is the base, structural and functional unit, of all living creatures. Good, we can move further.

Within these cells there are certain reactions going on - one more important than the other. In order for these reactions to take place accordingly, they need substances. These substances, in our case, are called enzymes - they’re called perfumes in other cases ( ha, ha, ha..funny me).

These enzymes we are talking about are found - mostly - in our liver.

Two of these enzymes are called ALT/SGPT and AST/SGOT - for your information, these are part of the transaminase group; not that this is interesting at all, but just to have something to talk about…

From here things are differently divided:

The SGPT is found in a greater concentration in the liver, than SGOT. This means that one is more specific to the liver than the other. This enzyme is responsible with evaluating the hepatic function.

SGOT/AST (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase or aspartate aminotransferase) is an enzyme which, apart from the fact that it is located in your liver, it can also be found in the heart, muscles, kidneys, pancreas, brain, spleen and other organs. As you can see, this one is a less specific indicator of the hepatic function.

If the SGPT enzyme is specific to any liver’s disease, we cannot say the same about SGOT. Either way, health issues appear when the blood tests indicate a higher value than the normal one.

It is best advisable that you get a specialist to read your blood tests’ results. He should be the one to bring some light. In our case, affections can be quite diverse: starting from the liver, pancreas, kidneys, heart…and ending up with the brain…

Either way, the idea is simple, if values are higher than 40U/L (units per liter) you should consider asking for a doctor’s guidance.

All these information are meant to just help you clear things out a little. It was not my intention to beat around the bush, I just brought forward a general idea.

But you do not have to worry! If you indeed have problems with your SGOT/AST enzyme, there is a solution.

I really hope you got the main idea.

I wish you much health and as less diseases as possible.