Prepared by: Lady Sherbell A.

Fandiño
John Menard N. Garcia
• Plasma is the liquid portion of the blood. This slightly yellow fluid is
made up of 90 percent water. Although often thought of as less
important than the cells of the blood that carry oxygen and provide
immunity, the plasma is equally important. It is responsible for many
different functions in the body.
• Plasma is similar in many ways to seawater -- it's
water-based, but contains many salts, including
NaCl, or table salt. Plasma also contains many
chemicals that aren't found in seawater, including
blood proteins, components of clotting and cellular
messengers called hormones. Whole blood is
approximately 45 percent cells and 55 percent
plasma, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her
book "Human Physiology." The plasma itself is
mostly water -- about 90 percent
 FUNCTIONS
1. Transport Nutrients
One of the most important functions of the plasma is to transport nutrients
throughout the body. As food is digested in the stomach and intestines, it is broken
down into its components. This includes amino acids (the building blocks of
proteins), lipids (fats), sugars (glucose) and fatty acids. These nutrients are
distributed to cells throughout the body where they are utilized to maintain healthy
functions and growth.
• Blood cells don't participate in nutrient transport -- instead, nutrients dissolve in
the plasma itself. For instance, notes Dr. Gary Thibodeau in his book "Anatomy
and Physiology," when you consume a carbohydrate-containing meal, you digest
the carbohydrate and absorb a sugar called glucose into the bloodstream. The
glucose dissolves in the blood plasma -- it's then called blood sugar -- and the
plasma carries it to the body cells.
2. Nutrient Regulation
To keep cells well-nourished, your body works hard to
maintain steady concentrations of certain key nutrients in the
bloodstream. Energy-providing nutrients in the bloodstream
include amino acids, which come from proteins, and fats, but the
most regulated of the bloodstream nutrients is glucose.

Your pancreas uses two different hormones to keep blood glucose

levels relatively constant. If blood sugar starts to rise too much, the
pancreas secretes insulin to decrease blood sugar. If blood sugar
starts to fall, the pancreas secretes glucagon to raise it.
3. Transport Waste
In addition to transporting nutrients, the plasma transports waste products,
such as uric acid, creatinine and ammonium salts, from the cells of the body to the
kidneys. The kidneys filter these wastes out of the plasma and excrete them from
the body as urine.

4. Maintain Blood Volume

Approximately 7 percent of the plasma is protein, according to the Science
Encyclopedia. The protein found in the highest concentration in plasma is
albumin, a protein important for tissue repair and growth. This high
concentration of albumin is important for maintaining the osmotic pressure of
the blood.
• Albumin is also present in the fluids that surround the cells, known as the
interstitial fluid. The concentration of albumin in this fluid is lower than in
plasma. Because of this, water is not able to move from the interstitial fluid into
the blood. If the plasma did not contain so much albumin, water would move into
the blood, increasing blood volume and causing an increase in blood pressure
which would make the heart work harder.

5. Balance Electrolytes

Plasma carries salts, also called electrolytes, throughout the body.

These salts, including sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, chloride
and bicarbonate are important for many bodily functions. Without these
salts, muscles would not contract and nerves would not be able to send
signals to and from the brain.
• Others
Other nutrients affect the blood plasma, even though they don't provide
energy to cells. For instance, vitamin K is one of the micronutrients, meaning
components of food that you need only in small amounts. Your body uses vitamin K
to help in the clotting process that takes place when you damage a blood vessel or
cut yourself. Without sufficient vitamin K in the blood plasma, your blood can't
clot, and you can develop a bleeding disorder.

Most important elements in blood plasma are the three blood plasma
proteins:
 albumins
 Globulins
 and fibrinogen.
• Proteins that are present in the
blood plasma.
• They serve many functions.
• Proteins present in the plasma
are a mixture of simple
proteins, glycoproteins,
lipoproteins, & other
conjugated proteins are called
“ plasma proteins.”
• Plasma Proteins are known as
ALBUMIN, GLOBULIN,
FIBRINOGEN.
Types of Plasma Proteins
The three major fractions of plasma proteins are known as
Albumin, Globulin, and Fibrinogen. On a finer resolution by
electrophoresis, these fractions are separated as follows –
• Albumin – 55.2%
• α1-Globulin – 5.3%
• α2-Globulin – 8.6%
• β-Globulin – 13.4%
• ¥-Globulin – 11.0%
• Fibrinogen – 6.5%
Albumin
• Albumin makes up the largest proportion of blood plasma proteins. Albumin is
manufactured by the liver and is responsible for keeping the fluid pressure level
constant in the blood, so that blood continually flows in the bloodstream rather
than seeping into surrounding tissues.
• Albumin also functions as a carrier, binding specific molecules in the blood
plasma so that it can carry nutrients and vitamins where they are needed in the
body. Albumin levels act as strong indicators of health; low levels of albumin can
indicate several potentially dangerous medical conditions, such as severe
dehydration, liver damage and kidney failure.
• This is the most abundant class of plasma proteins (2.8 to 4.5 gm/100ml) with highest
electrophoretic mobility. It is soluble in water and is precipitated by fully saturated ammonium
sulfate. Albumin is synthesized in the liver and consists of a single polypeptide chain of 610
amino acids having a molecular weight of 69,000. It is rich in some essential amino acids such
as lysine, leucine, valine, phenylalanine, threonine, arginine and histidine.
• The acidic amino acids like aspartic acid and
glutamic acid are also concentrated in albumin.
The presence of these residues makes the
molecule highly charged with a positive and
negative charge. Besides having a nutritive role,
albumin acts as a transport carrier for various
biomolecules such as fatty acids, trace elements,
and drugs. Another important role of albumin is
in the maintenance of osmotic pressure and fluid
distribution between blood and tissues.
Types of Albumin:
• Bovine serum albumin (also known as BSA or
"Fraction V") is a serum albumin protein derived from
cows. It is often used as a protein concentration standard
in lab experiments.
• Human serum albumin is the serum albumin found in
human blood. It is the most abundant protein in human
blood plasma; it constitutes about half of serum protein.
It is produced in the liver. It is soluble in water and
monomeric.
Globulins:
• By electrophoresis plasma globulins are separated into α1, α2,β and ¥-globulins
are synthesized in the liver, whereas ¥-globulins are formed in the cells of the
reticuloendothelial system. The average normal serum globulin (total)
concentration is 2.5 gm / 100 ml (Howe method) or 3.53 gm/100 ml by
electrophoresis.
• Although globulins make up a smaller proportion of blood plasma protein, they
perform the very important function of providing antibodies. Globulin protein is
actually subdivided into four major categories: gamma globulin, alpha-1
globulin, alpha-2 globulin, and beta globulin.
• Gamma globulins are also classified as immunoglobulin and are the specific group of plasma
protein that functions as antibodies providing protection against disease on a cellular level. The
alpha and beta globulins primarily act as transporters for fat soluble vitamins, hormones and
lipids. The alpha and beta globulins are synthesized in the liver; gamma globulins, however, are
created by the lymphoid tissue.
Alpha1 Globulin (α1-Globulin)
This fraction includes several complex proteins containing
carbohydrates and lipids. These are orosomucoid, α1-
glycoprotein, and α-lipoproteins. The normal serum level of α1-
globulin is 0.42 gm/100 ml.
Orosomucoid is rich in carbohydrates. It is water-soluble, heat
stable and has a molecular weight of 44,000. It serves to
transport hexosamine complexes to tissues.
Lipoproteins are soluble complexes which contain non-
covalently bound lipid. These proteins act mainly as transport
carrier to different types of lipids in the body.
Alpha2-Globulin (α2-Globulins)
This fraction also contains complex proteins such as α2-glycoproteins, plasminogen, prothrombin,
haptoglobulin, ceruloplasmin (transports Cu) and α2-macroglobulin. The normal serum value of this
fraction is 0.67 gm/100ml. Plasminogen and prothrombin are in the inactive precursors of plasmin and
thrombin, respectively. Both of these proteins play an important role in blood clotting.

Beta Globulin (β-Globulins)

This fraction of plasma proteins contain these different β-lipoproteins which are very rich in lipid content.
It also contains transferrin (siderophilin) which transports non-heme iron in plasma. The normal serum
value of β-globulins is 0.91 gm/100ml. Transferrin is an iron transport protein. In plasma, it can be
saturated even up to 33% with iron. It has a low content of carbohydrate.

Gamma Globulin (¥-Globulins)

These are also called Immunoglobulins and have antibody activity. Based on their
electrophoretic mobility they are classified as IgG, IgA, and IgM.
 Fibrinogen:
• It is a fibrous protein with a molecular weight of 340,000. It has 6 polypeptide chains which are
held together by disulfide linkages. Fibrinogen plays an important role in the clothing of blood
where it is converted to fibrin by thrombin. In addition, the plasma contains a number of
enzymes such as acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase which have great diagnostic value.
• Is also created by the liver. Its primary function is to work with blood platelets to create blood
clots. Abnormally low levels of fibrinogen can lead to excessive bleeding and hemorrhaging.
Elevated levels of fibrinogen, however, can be a strong predictor of stroke.
• A study lead by Dr. Rehana Lovely of Missouri State University and published in the March
2010 issue of "Clinical Chemistry" indicates that a particular subset of the fibrinogen protein,
known as y’ fibrinogen, specifically may be useful as a marker for determining risk factor for
cardiovascular disease.
• According to the study, y’ fibrinogen levels can serve as an accurate biomarker for
cardiovascular risk even in patients who show normal, healthy cholesterol levels—potentially
saving lives in patients who would have, in the past, been considered low risk.
 Functions of Plasma Proteins
• Protein Nutrition: Plasma proteins act as a source of protein for the tissues, whenever the
need arises.
• Osmotic Pressure and water balance: Plasma proteins exert an osmotic pressure of about 25
mm of Hg and therefore play an important role in maintaining a proper water balance between
the tissues and blood. Plasma albumin is mainly responsible for this function due to its low
molecular weight and quantitative dominance over other proteins. During the condition of
protein loss from the body as occurs in kidney diseases, an excessive amount of water moves to
the tissues producing edema.
• Buffering action: Plasma proteins help in maintaining the pH of the body by acting
ampholytes. At normal blood pH, they act as acids and accept captions.
• Transport of Lipids: One of the most important functions of plasma proteins us to transport
lipids and lipid-soluble substances in the body. Fatty acids and bilirubin are transported mainly
by albumin, whereas cholesterol and phospholipids are carried by the lipoproteins present in β-
globulins also transport fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K, and E)
• Transport of other substances: In addition to lipids,
plasma proteins also transport several metals and other
substances α2-Globulins transport copper
(Ceruloplasmin), bound hemoglobin (haptoglobin) and
thyroxine (glycoprotein) and non-heme iron is
transported by transferrin present in β-globulin fraction.
Calcium, Magnesium, some drugs and dyes, and several
cations and anions are transported by plasma albumin.
• Blood Coagulation: Prothrombin present in α2-globulin
fraction and fibrinogen, participate in the blood clotting
process as follows.
• Buffering action: Plasma proteins help in maintaining
the pH of the body by acting ampholytes. At normal
blood pH, they act as acids and accept captions.
• Transport of Lipids: One of the most important
functions of plasma proteins us to transport lipids and
lipid-soluble substances in the body. Fatty acids and
bilirubin are transported mainly by albumin, whereas
cholesterol and phospholipids are carried by the
lipoproteins present in β-globulins also transport fat-
soluble vitamins (A, D, K, and E)
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God Bless!!!