ALP (alkaline phosphatase) isoenzyme

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Blood test

The normal value is 20 to 140 IU/L (international units per liter)

Adults have lower levels of ALP than children because children's bones are still growing. During some growth spurts, levels can be as high as 500 IU/L. Usually children are not measured because of the potential for such high amounts, so the abnormal results refer to adults.

The isoenzymes can reveal whether the increase is in "bone" ALP or "liver" ALP.

Higher-than-normal ALP levels may indicate:

• Pregnancy
• Healing bone fracture
• Liver diseases
• Biliary obstruction
• Hepatitis
• Bone disease
• Paget's disease
• Osteoblastic bone cancers
• Osteomalacia
• Rickets
• Skeletal disease
• Anemia
• Rickets
• Leukemia
• Thyroid gland infection
• Hyperparathyroidism
• Chronic alcohol ingestion

Lower-than-normal levels of ALP may indicate:

• Protein deficiency
• Magnesium deficiency
• Too much vitamin D or too little vitamin C
• Poor nutrition

Review Date: 05/17/2005
Reviewed By: Vishal Datta, M.D., Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, New York Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.