Spinochrome E (also called 2,3,5,6,7,8-hexahydroxy-1,4-naphthalenedione or hexahydroxynaphthoquinone) is a polyhydroxylated 1,4-naphthoquinone pigment found in sea urchin shell ("test"), spine, gonads, coelomic fluid, and eggs, of sea urchin commonly known as spinochromes.
The several hydroxyl groups are appropriate for free-radical scavenging, which diminishes ROS and prevents redox imbalance.
Mechanisms are described such as scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), interaction with lipid peroxide radicals, chelation of metal ions, inhibition of lipid peroxidation and regulation of the cell redox potential.
Spinochrome from sea urchins, in oriental culture, are known for putative health benefits.
[medical citation needed] The sea urchin appears in the "Materia medica" of the Ming Dynasty author by Li Zhongli in 1647 and the benefits cited are for the heart, bones, blood and also it counteracts impotence.