New Active Organic Substance in Oyster Shell Capable of Scavenging Oxygen Free Radicals with High Efficiency

A light purple organic active substance capable of scavenging hydroxyl radical(
• OH) with a high efficiency was extracted from Oyster shell at an extraction rate of 2.49%. It was found for the first time that this active substance may scavenge
• OH with the efficiency far higher than that of vitamin C. This active substance may scavenge also superoxide radical(O2−
• ) although the scavenging efficiency is far lower than that of vitamin C. Infrared spectrometry and routine chemical analysis primarily reveal that this active substance belongs to glycoprotein.