Anticancer Potential of Steviol in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells

This study aimed to investigate the cytotoxicity, apoptosis induction, and mechanism of action of steviol on human breast cancer cells (Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 [MCF-7]). Sulforhodamine-B assay was performed to analyze cytotoxic potential of Steviol whereas flow cytometer was used to analyze cell cycle, apoptosis, and reactive oxygen species generation. Studying the viability of cells confirms the IC of Steviol in MCF-7 cells which was 185 μM. The data obtained from fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis reveal Steviol-mediated G2/M-phase arrest ( < 0.05) in addition to the presence of evident sub-G0/G1 peak ( < 0.05) in the MCF-7 cells, signifying the ongoing apoptosis. Thus, results suggest that induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 cells was due to dose-dependent effect of Steviol. Our first findings indicate Steviol as a promising candidate for the treatment of breast cancer. Steviol remarkably inhibited the growth MCF-7 HBCCs in a dose dependent mannerIt abolishes cell cycle progression by arresting cells at G2/M phaseSteviol induces the cells to undergo apoptosisSteviol induces the cells to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). MCF-7: Michigan Cancer Foundation-7; SRB: Sulforhodamine-B assay; FACS: Fluorescence-activated cell sorter; ROS: Reactive oxygen species; DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid.