Abstract:The antioxidant peptides from the soft-shelled turtle was isolated and purified, and the ameliorative effect of purified peptides on the oxidative damage in mice was evaluated. The DPPH radical scavenging rate was used as the evaluation indicator for optimizing the separation and purification process of ion exchange resin method to obtain the high activity antioxidant peptides from soft-shelled turtle (STP). Subsequently, D-galactose (D-gal) -induced oxidative damage model was established in mice, and ELISA kits was used to measure superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA). The results showed that gel cation ion exchange resin (GC) was the best for separation and purification of antioxidant peptides. Under the conditions of 1.0 of pH value and 50% of ethanol volume fraction, the DPPH radical scavenging rate was increased by 34.42% (P<0.001) when compared with STP. Compared to the model group, the SOD activity in liver and thymus tissues of purified of turtle antioxidant peptides with GC (GC -STP) group was significantly increased by 62.28% (P<0.05) and 59.18% (P<0.01); The GSH-Px activity in liver, spleen and thymus tissues was significantly increased by 32.52% (P<0.05), 7.50% (P<0.05) and 178.96% (P<0.01); The malondialdehyde (MDA) content in liver was significantly decreased by 28.28% (P<0.05). Therefore, GP-STP could effectively ameliorate D-gal induced oxidative damage of live tissue in mice. The findings of this study serve as the theoretical foundation of GP-STP to improve oxidative damage.