Dear Argentums Some time ago, someone posted to the effect that respired oxygen is always or largely in the form of superoxide, implying that ozone sourced free-radicals are therefore perfectly natural and safe. Being too busy to respond to this, which I did not believe to be the case, I came across the following recently which reminded me of this question and I share the following with you, to clarify this point, which I am confident is quite accurate and also to add to the continued understanding of the tolerance of H2O2 in the body:
Wells W, "Getting rid of radicals", Chemistry & Biology, 6: 12, 1999. (ISSN: 1074-5521, Elsevier Science, Lond) "A 'low' level of superoxide is constantly generated by aerobic respiration. The electron-transport chain of mitochondria, which is meant to escort four electrons to molecular oxygen to form water, 'occasionally' leaks a single electron. ''It's like a wire with insufficient insulation,'' says Irwin Fridovich of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina." "In 1969 Fridovich and Joe McCord (University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver) discovered the body's primary mode of defense against this leakage: superoxide dismutase (SOD). SOD converts superoxide to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and molecular oxygen. It is remarkable for its use of electrostatic guidance of substrates to exceed diffusion-limited catalytic rates." The paper goes on to lament the instability of exogenous (dietary supplement or IV) SOD and its poor penetration into cells, which is why I try to ensure its endogenous induction via traces of colloidal copper, zinc and manganese, and catalase via copper (both as per the electrodes which Marshall has distributed). The paper continues: "Metals are good at doing redox chemistry, but indiscriminate redox chemistry by free metals is very toxic to the cell. Manganese is far less toxic than copper and zinc in native SOD." "Soon after its discovery as a byproduct of oxidative metabolism, superoxide began turning up in many biological systems: as a product of NADPH oxidase in phagocytes, which use a burst of superoxide to help kill bacteria; in signaling cascades involving NFKB in immune cells and ras in cancer cells." "Catalase activity is the ability to break down hydrogen peroxide and in some instances is more important (than SOD). The only time hydrogen peroxide is a real problem is when you have superoxide around, because the superoxide reduces Fe(III) to Fe(II), releasing the iron from storage sites so that it can react with hydrogen peroxide and produce hydroxyl radicals." Regards Stuart -- 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]>
