Amylase
A digestive enzyme from the pancreas and salivary glands.
What it is
Amylase breaks down starch. Blood levels rise most notably with pancreas inflammation, but salivary gland conditions and other causes raise it too.
Why it matters
A clearly raised amylase with abdominal pain is an urgent clinical question; mild isolated elevations are common and often benign.
This guide is educational only and cannot diagnose you. Discuss results, especially anything outside your laboratory’s reference interval, or that does not match how you feel, with a GP or other appropriately qualified clinician.
This guide is educational only and cannot diagnose you. Discuss results, especially anything outside your laboratory’s reference interval, or that does not match how you feel, with a GP or other appropriately qualified clinician.
How it affects the body
It digests carbohydrate in the gut; blood levels only reflect leakage from the glands that make it.
For athletes
Amylase is not affected by training in any useful way; it is not a performance marker.
Related tests
No published panels currently list this marker.