Hepatocellular damage has been assessed in 54 patients with biopsy proven alcoholic cirrhosis by measuring the activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the concentrations of glutathione S-transferase B1B1 (GST B1B1) and B2B2 (GST B2B2) in serum. The levels of AST, GST B1B1, or GST B2B2 were abnormal in 28, 28 and 17 patients respectively but abnormalities in AST and GST measurements appeared to identify different populations of patients.