In vitro activities of the components from scallop shells

Abstract

In the present study, in order to enable effective utilization of scallop shells, the in vitro activities of components that were extracted from scallop shells were investigated. In particular, the scallop shell's useful ability to protect skin was evaluated. The following were found: (i) scallop shell extract inhibited generation of the superoxide anion, which was generated by xanthine and xanthine oxidase; (ii) when the scallop shell extract was supplied to culture medium for skin fibroblast cells, the cell growth rate was increased; and (iii) the scallop shell extract showed strong inhibitory activities for elastase. In the present paper, we describe the possibility of the effective utilization of scallop shells as cosmetics.