SGPT and SGOT vs ALT and AST: Same Tests, Old Names

If your lab report lists SGPT and SGOT while everything you read online discusses ALT and AST, nothing is wrong and nothing is missing. These are two names for the same two enzymes.

Older name	Current name	Full name
SGPT	ALT	Alanine aminotransferase
SGOT	AST	Aspartate aminotransferase

Why are there two sets of names?

The older names describe the chemical reaction; the newer ones name the substrate.

SGPT stands for serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase — the enzyme transfers an amino group in a reaction involving glutamate and pyruvate. SGOT is serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, the equivalent reaction involving oxaloacetate.

The modern convention names each enzyme for the amino acid it acts on: alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase. Same enzymes, same assays, more descriptive naming.

There is no difference in what is measured, how it is measured, or how the result should be read. A lab reporting SGPT and one reporting ALT are running the same test.

Which set appears on your report is a matter of local convention and how old the laboratory’s reporting templates are. Both remain in active use, and some reports list both.

Does the naming change how the result is interpreted?

No. Reference ranges, the reasons a value moves, and what the number does and does not predict are identical, because the underlying measurement is identical.

That includes the caveats that matter most. Laboratory upper limits for these enzymes vary substantially — one analysis of eleven laboratories found upper limits from 35 to 79 U/L for men — because reference populations were not screened for the metabolic conditions that raise aminotransferases in the first place.

For what the numbers actually mean, the substance is covered in full elsewhere:

ALT on a blood test — including why a low result is not automatically good news, and the cohort finding that the lowest normal quartile carried roughly twice the all-cause mortality of the highest.
AST on a blood test — why AST is not liver-specific, and what the AST/ALT ratio does and does not predict.

Frequently asked questions

Is SGPT the same as ALT?

Yes, exactly. SGPT (serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase) and ALT (alanine aminotransferase) are the same enzyme, measured by the same assay, reported in the same units.

Is SGOT the same as AST?

Yes. SGOT (serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase) and AST (aspartate aminotransferase) are the same enzyme under two names.

Which name is correct?

Both are correct; ALT and AST are the current standard. The older names remain widespread on lab reports, particularly outside the US, and neither is wrong.

What is a normal SGPT level?

The same as a normal ALT level, and it depends on the laboratory. Upper limits vary widely between labs, and a proposed healthy range is tighter than most lab defaults — up to 30 U/L for men and 19 U/L for women. See the ALT article for why that gap exists.

Why does my report show SGPT and my doctor says ALT?

Because clinicians generally use the current nomenclature while many reporting systems still print the older one. They are discussing the same value on the same line of the same panel.

The takeaway

SGPT is ALT. SGOT is AST. The older names describe the reaction and the newer ones the substrate, and nothing about the measurement, the reference range, or the interpretation changes between them.

If you arrived here trying to reconcile a report against something you read, the reconciliation is simply the name. What the numbers mean is the more interesting question, and it is covered in the two articles linked above.