The foaming of hydrogen peroxide in the mouth is primarily due to the action of catalase in the saliva.
In the healthy ear canal there is little foaming action, so I suspect the foaming that does occur in other cases is due to accumulated debris, such as dead cells, wax, dirt and pathogens. "Catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) is a tetrameric haemin-enzyme consisting of 4 identical tetrahedrally arranged subunits of 60 kDa. Therefore, it contains 4 ferriprotoporphyrin groups per molecule, and its molecular mass is about 240 kDa. Catalase is one of the most efficient enzymes known. It is so efficient that it cannot be saturated by H2O2 at any concentration (5). CAT reacts with H2O2 to form water and molecular oxygen;"... http://bioscience.igh.cnrs.fr//1999/v4/d/mates/fulltext.htm This paper is a very good overview of the damage caused by, and the protection from oxygen radicals. It also reinforces the implication of infection (and the subsequent production of oxygen radicals) in many diseases. Just read through the bits that don't make sense, it really is worth it. Perhaps the most important action of the ingestion of H2O2 (other that direct oxidation of pathogens and toxins) is the stimulation of these anti-oxidant enzymes.<muses> Here is the abstract : "Aerobic organisms possess antioxidant defense systems that deal with reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced as a consequence of aerobic respiration. Reactive oxygen is related to both, the arrest of growth and the start of cell differentiation. Low concentrations of reactive oxygen intermediates may be beneficial or even indispensable in processes such as intracellular messaging and defense against micro-organisms, but higher amounts of active oxygen may be harmful to cells and organisms. A wide array of non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant defenses exists, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and catalase (CAT). We describe their main characteristics and how these antioxidant enzymes work together against active oxygen. Small deviations from their physiological values may have a dramatic effect on the resistance of cells to oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and DNA. Consequently, toxic oxygen play a role in aging process as well as in a number of human diseases that we list in this review. " For those further interested in age related oxidation effects, particularly of the eyes, this paper is also very interesting : http://www.molvis.org/molvis/v5/a32/ I urge you to read the abstracts relating to glutathione, found near the bottom of the references, complete with links to PubMed. Glutathione ingestion has poor absorption, but the ingestion of the precursors cysteine, glutamate, and glycine may overcome this. Ivan. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wayne Mosley" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, 21 May 2000 07:42 Subject: Re: CS>Fw: CS> OT, can`t hear now > ACTUALLY TO BE ACCURATE. THERE IS AN ENZYME IN OUR BLOOD CALLED > CATALASE WHICH DECOMPOSES ALL SORTS OF PEROXIDES (INCLUDING HYDROGEN > PEROXIDE) IN THE BODY AND AS HYDROGEN IS ALSO RELEASED (PH = POTENTIAL > HYDROGEN) THE PH CAN CAUSE IRRITATION WHICH IS WHY PEOPLE WHO TAKE IT > INTERNALLY ALOT GET REACTIONS IF THEY TAKE TOO MUCH. JOIN THE OXYTHERAPY > LIST AT [email protected] IF YOU LIKE. THEY TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF ALL > THE TIME. > > -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
