Total protein test: normal range, what it shows and price in the UAE

A total protein test measures all the protein in the liquid part of your blood. Most of it is albumin, made by the liver; the rest is a mixed group called globulins, which includes the antibodies of the immune system and many transport proteins. The total is a broad screen. What usually matters more is which of the two parts has moved.

What it measures

Albumin accounts for 55 to 60% of the protein in serum. It holds fluid inside the blood vessels and carries hormones, medicines and vitamins. Globulins make up the rest: some are made by the liver and some by the immune system, they are grouped as alpha, beta and gamma globulins, and between them they help fight infection, move nutrients and support blood clotting.

Laboratories measure total protein and albumin directly. Globulin is then worked out by subtraction: total protein minus albumin. A total protein result is therefore most useful read beside the albumin from the same sample.

Normal range

Total protein is reported in grams per litre (g/L) or grams per decilitre (g/dL); 1 g/dL equals 10 g/L. Published adult ranges:

Source	g/L	g/dL
MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine)	65 to 81	6.5 to 8.1
An NHS hospital laboratory in England	60 to 80	6.0 to 8.0
University of Washington laboratory medicine	64 to 83	6.4 to 8.3

For globulin, the calculated part, published ranges include 18 to 36 g/L at NHS laboratories in England and 2.0 to 3.9 g/dL (20 to 39 g/L) at the University of Washington, and a 2023 review notes that laboratories often set their own cut-offs.

Ranges vary by laboratory, method, age and sex, and with the type of sample: plasma reads about 4 g/L (0.4 g/dL) higher than serum because it still contains the clotting protein fibrinogen. The range printed on your own report is the one to read your result against.

What a high total protein usually points to

A high total protein usually means one of two things: the blood is more concentrated, or globulins have risen.

• Dehydration concentrates the blood, so albumin and globulin rise together.
• A broad rise in globulins. Long-running inflammation, autoimmune conditions and chronic infections such as viral hepatitis or HIV push up many different antibodies at once.
• A single protein made in excess. Less often, one clone of cells makes large amounts of a single antibody. Multiple myeloma is one cause of this pattern, so when globulin is high without a clear reason, a doctor will usually ask for serum protein electrophoresis, which separates the globulins and shows whether the rise is broad or comes from one protein.

What a low total protein usually points to

• Liver disease, which lowers albumin.
• Kidney conditions that let protein leak into the urine, such as nephrotic syndrome.
• Gut conditions that reduce absorption or let protein leak, such as coeliac disease, Crohn's disease or protein-losing enteropathy.
• Malnutrition, extensive burns or bleeding.
• Low antibody levels, which show up as a low globulin and which a doctor checks by measuring the immunoglobulins IgG, IgA and IgM.

What a doctor usually looks at next: whether albumin or globulin is responsible, using the albumin/globulin ratio; the liver enzymes; a urine test for protein; and, where globulin is the part that has moved, electrophoresis or immunoglobulin levels.

What moves it

• Posture. In a study that sampled the same people lying, sitting and standing, total protein rose by a meaningful amount between sitting and standing, so the position for the draw should stay the same from test to test.
• Tourniquet time. A tourniquet left on for a long time can push protein results up artificially.
• Hydration. Dehydration raises the result, and a large volume of intravenous fluid can dilute it.
• Sample quality. Haemolysis (damaged red cells in the sample), a fatty or cloudy sample can read falsely high, and contamination with citrate from another tube can read falsely low.
• Pregnancy. A lower albumin is normal in pregnancy, so protein results are read with that in mind.
• Medicines. Many medicines can affect protein results, which is why the person taking your sample asks what you take.

Preparing for the test

Total protein itself needs no fasting. It is usually part of a liver function test or a wider panel that may ask you to fast, so follow the instruction for the whole draw. Mention any medicines you take; whether anything changes before a test is a question for your doctor.

How Clare's panel handles it

In Clare's panel, total protein and albumin are both measured by the lab. Clare calculates globulin from them (total protein minus albumin) and then the albumin/globulin ratio (albumin divided by globulin). For example, a total protein of 72 g/L with an albumin of 45 g/L gives a globulin of 27 g/L and a ratio of 1.7.

Price

Total protein is usually sold within a liver function test rather than on its own. When we read public prices on 11 October 2026, a liver function test cost from 89 to 1,100 at six UAE providers; the top of that range was a hospital package that adds other tests. VAT is rarely stated, some are offer or "from" prices, and home collection can add a fee.

Related tests

Total protein is read with albumin and the albumin/globulin ratio, which split the total into its two parts, and with the rest of the liver function test. For what a broad panel usually covers and how to prepare for one, see Comprehensive blood test in Dubai: what to expect.

Why it means more over time

Total protein is fairly stable in a healthy adult, so a single value just outside the range is often repeated, seated, well hydrated and away from an illness, before anything is read into it. A trend says more: a globulin that keeps climbing across tests, or an albumin that keeps falling, is the kind of change to discuss with a doctor with the results in front of you. It is usually rechecked whenever a liver function test or a routine panel is repeated.

Clare is opening with a waitlist at clare.health.