(Rac)-Shikonin

(Rac)-Shikonin (CAS No.: 54952-43-1) is a racemic naphthoquinone natural pigment derived from the roots of Boraginaceae plants (such as Lithospermum erythrorhizon and Borago species), and is commonly used as a research tool compound in chemical biology and early drug discovery to elucidate associations between signaling and phenotypes in the contexts of oncology, immunology, and infection biology; at the mechanistic level, it has been reported to bypass certain drug-resistant phenotypes by inducing pathways consistent with necrotic programmed cell death, inhibit the key glycolytic enzyme PKM2 and thereby alter metabolic flux, modulate NF-κB signaling in part through proteasome inhibition, and inhibit TMEM16A chloride channel activity; in addition, it can participate in the regulation of TLR2-related pathways and affect phenotypes such as cell adhesion, invasion, and migration in gastric cancer models; in various in vitro assays, its functional activity is commonly observed in the nanomolar to low micromolar range, and modulation of microbial and inflammation-related signaling axes in cellular systems has also been documented; in biomedical research and drug development, this compound is used for target validation, pathway analysis, and phenotypic screening, and is suitable for scenarios such as cell culture and exploratory animal studies. The concentration or dose used in experiments typically depends on the specific experimental design and research objectives. The material is for laboratory research use only and does not imply any applicability for human or veterinary use.