Oxygenation of the tissues increases as the arterial partial pressure increases, and viscosity decreases. Ozone also oxidizes the plaque in arteries allowing the removal of the breakdown products, unclogging vessels. This leads to the stimulation of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate which shifts the oxyhemoglobin disassociation curve to the right. This leads to an increase in the amount of oxygen released to the surrounding tissues. With ozone therapy, there is a significant decrease in lactate production, showing that the metabolism is being inhibited.
Tumor cells have a peroxide intolerance due to insufficient glutathione peroxidase and catalase.
Ozone is thus able to oxidize the outer lipid layer of malignant cells and destroy them through cell lysis. From this there is a cascade of subsequent immunological reactions. Lipid peroxidation products include peroxyl radicals, vital for killer cell action.