Type the ceruloplasmin from your lab report — and the serum copper, if the same report prints it. You see each one against the adult ranges MedlinePlus, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, NIH ODS and Cedars-Sinai print, and what those sources say moves it. Your lab’s own range and your doctor have the last word.
Ceruloplasmin 30 mg/dL is
Inside all three printed ranges 30 mg/dL = 300 mg/L = 0.30 g/L
Ceruloplasmin 30 mg/dL: inside MedlinePlus’s 20–40 mg/dL for adults, inside Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ 20–51 mg/dL for women 18 and over, inside NIH ODS’s 18–40 mg/dL (ODS prints 180–400 mg/L; converted).
That is inside all the printed ranges. The range on your own lab report is the one your doctor reads it against.
MedlinePlus: “The results of a ceruloplasmin test alone cannot diagnose any conditions.”
What moves it, in the sources’ words
- MedlinePlus: “Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different labs. Some labs use different measurements or may test different samples. Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test results.”
- NIH ODS: “However, plasma CP and copper levels can be influenced by other factors, such as estrogen status, pregnancy, infection, inflammation, and some cancers”
| Source | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Ceruloplasmin — MedlinePlus | 20–40 mg/dL | 20–40 mg/dL |
| Ceruloplasmin — Mayo Clinic Laboratories | 20.0–51.0 mg/dL | 19.0–31.0 mg/dL |
| Ceruloplasmin — NIH ODS | 180–400 mg/L | 180–400 mg/L |
| Copper — Mayo Clinic Laboratories | 77–206 mcg/dL | 73–129 mcg/dL |
| Copper — Cedars-Sinai | 63–158 mcg/dL | 63–158 mcg/dL |
| Copper — NIH ODS | 10–25 µmol/L (63.5–158.9 mcg/dL) | 10–25 µmol/L (63.5–158.9 mcg/dL) |
This is not medical advice and it does not diagnose anything. It shows where a number sits against published ranges; what your result means for you depends on your lab, your other results, your history and your doctor.
MedlinePlus prints a normal ceruloplasmin of 20 to 40 mg/dL for adults; Mayo Clinic Laboratories prints 19.0 to 31.0 mg/dL for men and 20.0 to 51.0 mg/dL for women; NIH ODS prints 180 to 400 mg/L (18 to 40 mg/dL). For serum copper, Mayo prints 73 to 129 mcg/dL for men and 77 to 206 for women, Cedars-Sinai 63 to 158. MedlinePlus: “The results of a ceruloplasmin test alone cannot diagnose any conditions.”
How to use it
Type the ceruloplasmin line from your lab report and say whether it is printed in mg/dL, mg/L or g/L. If the same report prints a serum copper, type that too, in mcg/dL or µmol/L — either result alone is enough. Pick the ranges for women or men. You see where each number sits against the three adult ranges its sources print, the ranges drawn side by side, and what those sources say raises or lowers it. It does not diagnose anything: it places a number and quotes the sources.
What ceruloplasmin and serum copper are
MedlinePlus: “The ceruloplasmin test measures the level of the copper-containing protein ceruloplasmin in the blood.” “Ceruloplasmin is made in the liver. Ceruloplasmin stores and transports copper in the blood to parts of the body that need it.” Its test page adds: “Normally, most of the copper in your blood is part of ceruloplasmin.” NIH ODS puts a number on it: ceruloplasmin “carries more than 95% of the total copper in healthy human plasma”. Cedars-Sinai describes the copper test: “This test measures the total amount of copper in your blood. Normally most of the copper in your blood is carried by a protein called ceruloplasmin.” That is why the two are usually ordered together — MedlinePlus: “Ceruloplasmin tests are mostly used with tests that measure copper levels in blood and/or urine (pee).”
The ranges the sources print
| Test and source | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Ceruloplasmin — MedlinePlus | 20–40 mg/dL (200–400 mg/L, 0.20–0.40 g/L) | 20–40 mg/dL (200–400 mg/L, 0.20–0.40 g/L) |
| Ceruloplasmin — Mayo Clinic Laboratories | 20.0–51.0 mg/dL (200–510 mg/L, 0.20–0.51 g/L) | 19.0–31.0 mg/dL (190–310 mg/L, 0.19–0.31 g/L) |
| Ceruloplasmin — NIH ODS | 180–400 mg/L (18–40 mg/dL, 0.18–0.40 g/L) | 180–400 mg/L (18–40 mg/dL, 0.18–0.40 g/L) |
| Serum copper — Mayo Clinic Laboratories | 77–206 mcg/dL (12.1–32.4 µmol/L) | 73–129 mcg/dL (11.5–20.3 µmol/L) |
| Serum copper — Cedars-Sinai | 63–158 mcg/dL (9.9–24.9 µmol/L) | 63–158 mcg/dL (9.9–24.9 µmol/L) |
| Serum copper — NIH ODS | 10–25 µmol/L (63.5–158.9 mcg/dL) | 10–25 µmol/L (63.5–158.9 mcg/dL) |
MedlinePlus (Ceruloplasmin blood test, reviewed 2/13/2025): “The normal range for adults is 20 to 40 mg/dL.” It adds: “Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different labs.” Mayo Clinic Laboratories prints its ranges by age and sex — “> or =18 years: 19.0-31.0 mg/dL” for males and “> or =18 years: 20.0-51.0 mg/dL” for females (test CERS), and “> or =18 years: 73-129 mcg/dL” and “> or =18 years: 77-206 mcg/dL” for serum copper (test CUS1); this checker uses the adult bands only. NIH ODS: “Normal serum concentrations are 10–25 mcmol/L (63.5–158.9 mcg/dL) for copper and 180–400 mg/L for CP”. Cedars-Sinai: “The normal range for total copper in the blood is 63 to 158 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL).” Ceruloplasmin’s units are plain mass per volume (1 mg/dL = 10 mg/L = 0.01 g/L); copper’s µmol/L uses copper’s atomic weight, 63.546 — the same factor behind ODS’s own pair of numbers. Some older copies of the MedlinePlus text, still on hospital sites, say 14 to 40 mg/dL; MedlinePlus’s current page says 20 to 40.
What lowers it
MedlinePlus lists, word for word: “A lower-than-normal ceruloplasmin level may be due to: Long-term (chronic) liver disease; Problem absorbing nutrients from food (intestinal malabsorption); Malnutrition; Disorder in which cells in the body can absorb copper, but are unable to release it (Menkes syndrome); Group of disorders that damage the kidneys (nephrotic syndrome); Inherited disorder in which there is too much copper in the body’s tissues (Wilson disease)”. Its test page names one cause readers of a supplement site should know: “Taking too many zinc supplements, which can affect how well your body can use copper”. For copper, Mayo Clinic Laboratories: “Other disorders associated with decreased serum copper concentrations include malnutrition, hypoproteinemia, malabsorption, nephrotic syndrome, Menkes disease, copper toxicity, and megadosing of zinc-containing vitamins (zinc interferes with normal copper absorption from the gastrointestinal [GI] tract).” And: “Excess use of denture cream containing zinc can cause hypocupremia.”
The sources are careful about what a low number does and does not show. MedlinePlus lists “Wilson disease, although ceruloplasmin levels are sometimes normal with this disease”. Mayo Clinic Laboratories: “Values vary considerably from patient to patient and may be in the normal range in some patients with Wilson disease (indicating a different primary defect).” So a single result, low or normal, settles nothing on its own — that is your doctor’s work, with the other tests MedlinePlus says are ordered beside it.
What raises it
MedlinePlus: “A higher-than-normal ceruloplasmin level may be due to: Acute and chronic infections; Cancer (breast or lymphoma); Heart disease, including heart attack; Overactive thyroid; Pregnancy; Rheumatoid arthritis; Use of birth control pills”. Its test page adds: “But high levels of ceruloplasmin don’t always mean you have a condition that needs medical treatment. Pregnancy, birth control pills, and certain medicines, including estrogen therapy to treat menopause, may cause high blood ceruloplasmin. Too much copper in your diet rarely causes high ceruloplasmin.” Mayo Clinic Laboratories: “Birth control pills and pregnancy increase ceruloplasmin levels.” For copper, Cedars-Sinai: “Pregnancy, birth control pills, infection, inflammation, and stress can all increase the copper levels in your blood. The medicines corticosteroids and corticotropin can reduce your copper levels.” Mayo: “Increased serum concentration does not, by itself, indicate copper toxicity.” None of the sources prints a range for pregnancy.
Zinc supplements and copper
NIH ODS: “People who regularly consume high doses of zinc from supplements or use excessive amounts of zinc-containing denture creams can develop copper deficiency because zinc can inhibit copper absorption. This is one reason the FNB established the UL for zinc at 40 mg/day for adults”. The Nutrient Pairing Checker covers the zinc–copper pair, and the Vitamin & Mineral Dose Lookup prints zinc’s and copper’s RDA and upper limit for your age (copper’s is 900 mcg a day for adults, its upper limit 10,000 mcg). If you take zinc and your copper or ceruloplasmin came back low, tell the doctor who ordered the test what you take and how much.
Before the blood draw
MedlinePlus: “No special preparation is needed.” Cedars-Sinai asks you to tell your doctor about “all medicines, herbs, vitamins, and supplements you are taking”. NIH ODS adds that copper status is hard to read from blood at all: “Copper status is not routinely assessed in clinical practice, and no biomarkers that accurately and reliably assess copper status have been identified”. “However, plasma CP and copper levels can be influenced by other factors, such as estrogen status, pregnancy, infection, inflammation, and some cancers”.
Worked examples
- 30 mg/dL, woman (the page’s example): inside all three ceruloplasmin ranges.
- 19 mg/dL, man: under MedlinePlus’s 20, inside Mayo’s 19.0–31.0 for men and inside ODS’s 18–40 — inside 2 of the 3, and the answer says the sources draw the line in different places.
- 45 mg/dL, woman: above MedlinePlus’s and ODS’s 40, inside Mayo’s 20.0–51.0 for women — inside 1 of the 3. Birth control pills and pregnancy are on every source’s list.
- 0.3 g/L with a copper of 15 µmol/L (a lab outside the US): 30 mg/dL and 95.3 mcg/dL — both inside all three ranges.
- Copper alone, 180 mcg/dL, woman: inside Mayo’s 77–206 for women, above Cedars-Sinai’s 158 and ODS’s 158.9 — inside 1 of the 3.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up mg/dL, mg/L and g/L. 30 mg/dL is 300 mg/L and 0.30 g/L. The checker flags a number that only makes sense in another unit.
- Reading one number as a diagnosis. MedlinePlus: “The results of a ceruloplasmin test alone cannot diagnose any conditions.” Mayo: values “may be in the normal range in some patients with Wilson disease”.
- Treating high copper as copper poisoning. Mayo: “Increased serum concentration does not, by itself, indicate copper toxicity.” Pregnancy and birth control pills raise it.
- Forgetting the zinc. Zinc supplements and zinc denture creams lower copper, in ODS’s, Mayo’s and MedlinePlus’s words.
- Using a child’s result here. This checker reads adult ranges only; Mayo prints separate child bands.
Frequently asked questions
What is a ceruloplasmin test?
MedlinePlus: “The ceruloplasmin test measures the level of the copper-containing protein ceruloplasmin in the blood.” It is a blood draw; MedlinePlus: “No special preparation is needed.”
What is a normal ceruloplasmin level?
MedlinePlus prints 20 to 40 mg/dL for adults; Mayo Clinic Laboratories prints 19.0 to 31.0 mg/dL for men and 20.0 to 51.0 for women 18 and over; NIH ODS prints 180 to 400 mg/L. The range printed on your own report is the one your doctor uses.
What does low ceruloplasmin mean?
MedlinePlus lists chronic liver disease, intestinal malabsorption, malnutrition, Menkes syndrome, nephrotic syndrome and Wilson disease, and on its test page too many zinc supplements. It also says “The results of a ceruloplasmin test alone cannot diagnose any conditions.” — your doctor reads it with the copper and other tests.
What does high ceruloplasmin mean?
MedlinePlus lists infections, some cancers, heart disease, an overactive thyroid, pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis and birth control pills, and adds: “But high levels of ceruloplasmin don’t always mean you have a condition that needs medical treatment.”
What is a normal copper blood test result?
Mayo Clinic Laboratories prints 73 to 129 mcg/dL for men and 77 to 206 for women 18 and over; Cedars-Sinai prints 63 to 158 mcg/dL; NIH ODS prints 10 to 25 µmol/L (63.5 to 158.9 mcg/dL).
Can zinc supplements lower copper?
Yes, in NIH ODS’s words: “People who regularly consume high doses of zinc from supplements or use excessive amounts of zinc-containing denture creams can develop copper deficiency because zinc can inhibit copper absorption.” The adult upper limit for zinc is 40 mg a day.
What is the difference between ceruloplasmin and copper?
Copper is the mineral; ceruloplasmin is the liver protein that carries most of it in the blood — over 95% of serum copper in normal adults, Mayo Clinic Laboratories says. A copper blood test measures all of it, ceruloplasmin-bound or not.
More blood-test checkers: the Iron Panel Reader, the Ferritin Level Checker, the Transferrin Level Checker, the Vitamin B12 Level Checker and the Hemoglobin Level Checker. Which zinc form is in your bottle: the Iron, Zinc & Calcium Form Finder.
Read next
- Vitamin compatibility — which minerals get in each other’s way, copper and zinc among them.
- Multivitamins for adults: how to choose — the copper and zinc a complex actually holds.
- Brain Food: 52 foods for peak mood and cognition — where copper comes from in food.
This is not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats anything. It shows where a number sits against published adult ranges and quotes what the sources say moves it; your lab’s own range, your other results and your doctor decide what it means. Some links on this site are affiliate links: I buy what I review at full price, and a commission never changes a verdict.