3-Hydroxykynurenine as O2-. scavenger in the blowfly, Aldrichina grahami.

We studied the distribution of O2-.-scavenging activity in 6-day-old larvae of Aldrichina grahami. Total activity was highest in the muscle. The specific activity per milligram of protein in the Malpighian tubules was highest, 10 times the highest elsewhere. Most of the O2-. scavenging activity in muscle depended on superoxide dismutase. However, the activity in the Malpighian tubules mostly depended on 3-hydroxykynurenine.