Do pathogens have a negative ORP and beneficial bacteria a positive? As claimed on page 33 of this MMS book: * > All pathogens (poison producers) have a negative ORP. * > All beneficial bacteria have a positive ORP. In other words: > The beneficial bacteria are positively charged. * > Human tissue cells also have a weak positive charge. Are these valid claims? * * * Additional clarification of the terminology: * ORP > All organisms and body cells and even liquids have an ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential) that can be either positive or negative. The ORP is the electrical charge that cells exert on other things in their immediate environment. Oxidizers also have an ORP, mostly called Oxidation Potential, and all oxidizers have a positive potential. * Pathogens > Pathogens create a waste material that is poisonous to the body. * Beneficial bacteria > Beneficial bacteria do not generate any poisonous material.

The beneficial strain of _E. coli_ K-12 has a negative ORP. Therefore, the original claim cannot be universally true.

Furthermore, _E. coli_ is a facultative anaerobe, which means it can survive in both oxygenated and oxygen-free environments. Since some strains of _E. coli_ are pathogens, this means that the claims elsewhere in that document that oxygen kills pathogens but preserves beneficial organisms are also false.

**Source:**

* Extracellular Oxidoreduction Potential Modifies Carbon and Electron Flow in Escherichia coli - Riondet, et al.