INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF ASCORBIC-ACID ON GROWTH OF LEUKEMIC AND LYMPHOMA CELL-LINES

Vitamin C has been suggested and disputed as an anti-cancer agent. Pre vious in vitro studies using either primary cell cultures from cancer patients or tumor cell lines have suggested that tumor cells with diff erent lineages may have different sensitivities to ascorbic acid. In t his study we report characterization of the effects of ascorbic acid o n growth of two ascorbic acid sensitive and one ascorbic acid resistan t lymphocyte tumor cell lines. The cytotoxic effects of ascorbic acid on the sensitive cell lines were time and dosage dependent. Furthermor e, the energy state of the ascorbic acid sensitive cells was affected by the presence of ascorbic acid before the cells became apparently no n-viable, as demonstrated by P-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectrosc opy. The existence of these lymphocyte cell lines with varying sensiti vities to ascorbic acid may provide a useful model system for further understanding of vitamin C action on cancer cells.