Functional effect of indole-3 carbinol in the viability and invasive properties of cultured cancer cells

Cancer treatment typically involves multiple strategies, such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, to remove tumors. However, chemotherapy often causes side effects, and there is a constant search for new drugs to alleviate them. Natural compounds are a promising alternative to this problem. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is a natural antioxidant agent that has been studied as a potential cancer treatment. I3C is an agonist of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a transcription factor that plays a role in the expression of genes related to development, immunity, circadian rhythm, and cancer. In this study, we investigated the effect of I3C on cell viability, migration, invasion properties, as well as mitochondrial integrity in hepatoma, breast, and cervical cancer cell lines. We found that all tested cell lines showed impaired carcinogenic properties and alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential after treatment with I3C. These results support the potential use of I3C as a supplementary treatment for various types of cancer. •I3C and BNF have significant effects on cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.•I3C shows effects at 10 μM, while BNF shows effects at 1 nM. I3C may serve as a promising natural therapy for cancer, but animal studies are needed to confirm in vivo efficacy.•I3C impairs cell proliferation, induces apoptosis, and affects cancer cell mobility, invasion and mitochondrial function.•Further studies are needed to determine the potential of these compounds as co-treatments with existing drugs for cancer patients.