Randy's December ORP Article

[StephenT]

Randy,

I read your December article with great interest --- great work, well threaded, consistent, and well grounded. However, as a chemistry layman, I have a couple of belated ignorant questions.

Why do we want to measure the reducer's potential? Don't we all sometimes use oxygen peroxide to rinse our mouth to kill germs? Isn't it the more oxidizing it is, the more the sterilizing effect? This brings me to the second studpid questsion. We take Vitamin C to improve our immunity system. Why do we need an antioxidant like Vitamin C to neutralize the so-called "free radicals". As with the peroxide example, don't we want to oxidize the viruses, fungi, and bacteria in our body to rid them off?

Please forgive my ignorance. Please enlighten me.

Thanks,
StephenT

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks, Stephen

Why do we want to measure the reducer's potential? Don't we all sometimes use oxygen peroxide to rinse our mouth to kill germs? Isn't it the more oxidizing it is, the more the sterilizing effect?

In the case of sterilization with oxidizers, ORP is a convenient way to measure the concentration of oxidants, but I do not believe that it is the ORP per se that kills things, but rather the oxidizing agents themselves that are toxic.

You can also kill things in reducing environments (low ORP) where a different set of toxic agents comes into play (like hydrogen sulfide).

Most creatures have largely evolved to live in a happy meduim between too high and too low of ORP.

As with the peroxide example, don't we want to oxidize the viruses, fungi, and bacteria in our body to rid them off?

Most microorganisms are dealt with via antibodies, not oxidants.

A lot of the highly oxidizing species made in people are byproducts of other processes, and we actually do not want them. The body has enzymes around (like superoxide dismutase) jusut for the purpose of eliminating some of these.

There certainly are some aspects of oxidizers that are desirable and necessary for many processes, including part of the immune response, I believe, but having too much of them leads to other big problems and the body tries to keep them under control. Antioxidants are one way to accomplish that.