What is the Main Function of Albumin?
Albumin's primary function is maintaining the proper fluid balance in your blood vessels, preventing fluid from leaking into your tissues. This is achieved by regulating osmotic pressure. Beyond this crucial role, albumin also acts as a transporter for various substances throughout the body, including hormones and medications. It also helps neutralize harmful free radicals.
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Maintaining Osmotic Pressure: Albumin is the most abundant protein in blood plasma. Its presence creates osmotic pressure, drawing water into the bloodstream and preventing it from seeping into surrounding tissues. This is vital for maintaining blood volume and preventing swelling (edema). [Multiple sources including Medscape, StatPearls, and Study.com highlight this crucial function.]
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Transporting Substances: Albumin acts like a delivery service, carrying various molecules like hormones, drugs, and bilirubin throughout your bloodstream to where they're needed. [This is emphasized in the provided text from multiple sources, including those from NCBI and Pubmed.]
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Neutralizing Free Radicals: Albumin contributes to antioxidant defense mechanisms by neutralizing free radicals, protecting your cells from damage. [This function is explicitly mentioned in one of the provided references.]
Albumin and Clinical Significance
Low albumin levels (hypoalbuminemia) can indicate underlying health problems like liver or kidney disease, as these organs are involved in albumin production and regulation. Conversely, high albumin levels are less common and may not always indicate a problem, but can be indicative of certain conditions. [Information from MedlinePlus supports this, pointing out that albumin tests are often included in liver function tests.] [Mount Sinai's information further reinforces the diagnostic value of albumin blood tests in determining liver and kidney disease.]
