To clarify the role of oxygen radicals in the mucus metabolism of the gastrointestinal tract, the effect of oxygen radicals on the activity of glucosamine synthetase, the rate-limiting enzyme of mucus synthesis, was investigated using homogenate derived from rat gastric mucosa. The simultaneous addition of both xanthine and xanthine oxidase caused a significant inhibition of the enzyme activity, and this decrease was counteracted by catalase, but not by superoxide dismutase. Hydrogen peroxide also caused a significant decrease in the enzyme activity; and this effect of hydrogen peroxide was counteracted by catalase and dithiothreitol, but not by mannitol, dimethyl sulfoxide and reduced glutathione. The inhibition of glucosamine synthetase activity by oxygen radicals is considered to be caused by the oxidation of sulfhydryl groups of the enzyme molecule. The present results also suggest that oxygen radicals in the gastrointestinal tract may induce the suppression of a protective mechanism of the gastric mucosa by inhibiting glucosamine synthesis activity.