Oxidation-Reduction Potentials of Inflammatory Lesions of the Skin

Discussion and Summary

While a certain fluctuation was found in the oxidation-reduction potential of the extracellular fluid of the skin of normal guinea pigs, the changes recorded following the injection of diluted diphtheria toxin or the application of sufficient heat to induce a mild inflammatory reaction may be significant.

The changes in the oxidation-reduction potential of the extracellular fluid of the inflammatory reactions of the skin of the guinea pigs tested did not appear to be associated with the loss of ascorbic acid, as reported in previous work. 1 Comparable losses were found in the ascorbic-acid concentration of the skin lesions induced by diphtheria toxin and by heat, but the change in the Eh of the extracellular fluid of the skin in the reaction induced by heat was in the direction of a more positive potential while that of the toxin reaction was toward a more negative potential than was observed in the normal animals.