Cytotoxicity Effects of Vitamin C on Cancer Cells MCF-7

Endang Purwaningsih (Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, YARSI University, Jakarta)
Samsul Mustofa (Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, YARSI University, Jakarta)
Pendrianto (Telomere Study Center, YARSI University Research Institute, YARSI University, Jakarta)

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Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a powerful antioxidant that can reduce the effects of oxidative stress. One of the diseases caused by oxidative stress is cancer. The study aimed to assess the cytotoxic effect of vitamin C on MCF7 cancer cell cultures. This study used an in vitro laboratory experiment using MCF-7 breast cancer cell culture. MTS assay method was used to test the dose variance of vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid) against MCF-7 cultures. The MTS test used the CellTiter 96 Aqueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay kit. After that, 24 and 48 hours of culture were observed using test doses, 0 (negative control, K(–)), 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 g/mL. The results showed the higher the dose given, the lower the viability of MCF7 cells, both at 24 and 48 hours of incubation. The lowest viability was obtained at 86.75% at a dose of 320 g/mL during incubation for 24 hours and 7.95% at a dose of 320 g/mL during incubation for 48 hours. In conclusion, vitamin C has a cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cell culture with an IC50 value of 140 g/mL. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of vitamin C on the expression of the telomerase enzyme in breast cancer cells, especially MCF-7.