Database Query Results : Shikonin, , cardioP

SK, Shikonin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
The (R)-enantiomer of alkannin is known as shikonin, and the racemic mixture of the two is known as shikalkin.
Shikonin is a naphthoquinone derivative primarily isolated from the roots of plants in the Boraginaceae family (e.g., Lithospermum erythrorhizon).
Shikonin is the main active component of a Chinese medicinal plant 'Zi Cao'
-Shikonin is a major component of zicao (purple gromwell, the dried root of Lithospermum erythrorhizon), a Chinese herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory properties
-Quinone methides (QMs) are highly reactive intermediates formed from natural compounds like shikonin
-ic50 cancer cells 1-10uM, normal cells >10uM

-known as Glycolysis inhibitor: ( inhibit pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2*******), a key enzyme in the glycolytic pathway)

Available from mcsformulas.com Shikonin Pro Liposomal, 30 mg
Also In Glycolysis Inhibithree(100 mg PHLORIZIN,10 mg TANSHINONE IIA, 8 mg Shikonin)

-Note half-life15-30mins or 8hr?.
BioAv low, poor water solubility
Pathways:
- usually induce ROS production in cancer cells, and reduce ROS in normal cells.
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, GRP78↑, Ca+2↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓,
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: NRF2↓, TrxR↓**, SOD↓, GSH↓ Catalase↓ GPx4↓
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : NLRP3↓, IL-1β↓, TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, IGF-1↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, FAK↓, NF-κB↓, TGF-β↓, ERK↓
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, cyclin E↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, FAK↓, ERK↓, EMT↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDH↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK, ERK↓, JNK, P53↑,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells
Rank Pathway / Target Axis Direction Primary Effect Notes / Cancer Relevance
1 PKM2-mediated aerobic glycolysis (Warburg metabolism) ↓ Energy / biomass restriction Key, repeatedly reported mechanism: shikonin suppresses PKM2 activity and PKM2-driven glycolysis in multiple tumor models, with downstream growth inhibition and apoptosis
2 ROS accumulation / oxidative stress ↑ ROS Redox overload Common upstream trigger that drives mitochondrial dysfunction and regulated cell death programs; often precedes necroptosis/apoptosis signaling
3 Necroptosis core cascade (RIPK1 → RIPK3 → MLKL) ↑ Programmed necrotic cell death Strong evidence across cancers (e.g., leukemia and nasopharyngeal carcinoma): shikonin increases RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL expression/activation; necroptosis inhibitors can blunt the effect
4 Mitochondrial integrity (ΔΨm) ↓ Mitochondrial dysfunction ROS-linked depolarization; acts as a pivot into intrinsic apoptosis and other death programs
5 Intrinsic apoptosis (BAX/BAK → Caspase-9/3) ↑ Programmed cell death Frequently observed; often framed as ROS → mitochondrial damage → caspase-dependent apoptosis
6 PKM2/STAT3 signaling axis ↓ Reduced survival & proliferation signaling In ESCC and related models, shikonin suppresses PKM2-driven glycolysis and down-modulates STAT3 pathway activity
7 NF-κB pathway ↓ Reduced pro-survival transcription Reported as part of multi-target suppression of inflammatory/anti-apoptotic programs in several tumor models and reviews
8 PI3K–AKT (± mTOR) ↓ Growth & resistance pathway inhibition Often described as sensitizing cells to apoptosis/TRAIL; may be secondary to oxidative stress and metabolic collapse
9 Stress MAPKs (JNK / p38) ↑ Pro-death stress signaling Common downstream response to ROS; can reinforce apoptosis and other death outcomes
10 Ferroptosis-related axis (lipid peroxidation; GPX4) ↑ lipid perox / ↓ GPX4 Iron-dependent oxidative death Reported prominently for acetylshikonin (a shikonin derivative): ROS-associated lipid peroxidation with reduced GPX4 expression alongside RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL activation
11 Endoplasmic reticulum stress (UPR / ERS) ↑ Proteotoxic stress signaling Frequently mentioned in leukemia-focused mechanism summaries and broader reviews as contributory to growth arrest and death
12 Multiple regulated death programs (apoptosis / necroptosis / ferroptosis / pyroptosis) ↑ (context-dependent) Broader cell-death engagement Recent reviews emphasize that shikonin can engage several programmed cell death modalities depending on cell context and dosing
Rank Pathway / Target Axis Direction Primary Effect Notes / Cancer Relevance Ref
1 PKM2-mediated aerobic glycolysis (Warburg metabolism) ↓ PKM2 activity / ↓ glycolysis Energy & biomass restriction Demonstrates shikonin (and analogs) inhibit cancer glycolysis, reducing glucose consumption/lactate production via PKM2 targeting (ref)
2 PKM2 → STAT3 signaling axis ↓ PKM2-driven signaling / ↓ STAT3 pathway Reduced survival & proliferation ESCC study: shikonin suppresses PKM2-mediated aerobic glycolysis and regulates PKM2/STAT3 signaling (ref)
3 Necroptosis (RIPK1 → RIPK3 → MLKL) ↑ RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL Programmed necrotic cell death Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: shikonin induces necroptosis with upregulation of RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL (with ROS involvement) (ref)
4 ROS accumulation ↑ ROS Oxidative stress trigger Colon cancer model: shikonin increases intracellular ROS; ROS functions upstream of apoptosis (ref)
5 Mitochondrial apoptosis (Caspase-9/3) ↑ Caspase-9/3 Programmed cell death Same colon cancer study shows shikonin increases caspase-3 and caspase-9 activity (mitochondria-mediated apoptosis) (ref)
6 ER stress / UPR (PERK → eIF2α → CHOP) ↑ Proteotoxic stress apoptosis signaling Colon cancer: shikonin-induced apoptosis mediated by PERK/eIF2α/CHOP ER-stress pathway (ref)
7 Autophagic flux (autophagosome–lysosome completion) ↓ autophagic flux (blocked) ROS + apoptosis amplification Colorectal cancer: shikonin induces ROS and apoptosis by inhibiting autophagic flux (ref)
8 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activity Reduced pro-survival transcription Pancreatic cancer xenograft/mechanistic study: shikonin suppresses NF-κB activity and NF-κB–regulated gene products (ref)
9 PI3K–AKT–mTOR (stemness / chemoresistance axis) ↓ PI3K/AKT/mTOR Reduced survival & stemness Chemoresistant lung cancer CSC context: shikonin attenuates PI3K–Akt–mTOR pathway and reduces cancer stemness (ref)
10 Cell cycle control (p21; G2/M arrest) ↑ p21 / ↑ G2/M arrest Proliferation block Gastric cancer (AGS): shikonin induces cell-cycle arrest linked to p21 regulation (ref)
11 Invasion / metastasis programs (NF-κB-linked) ↓ invasion Anti-invasive phenotype Reports shikonin inhibits tumor invasion via down-regulation of NF-κB–related mechanisms in a high-metastatic tumor model (ref)
12 Chemosensitization via glycolysis suppression ↓ glycolysis / ↑ cisplatin sensitivity Combination benefit NSCLC: shikonin inhibits glycolysis and sensitizes cells to cisplatin (explicitly connecting metabolic suppression to chemosensitization) (ref)


cardioP, cardioProtective: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type:
CardioProtective


Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
3040- SK,    Pharmacological Properties of Shikonin – A Review of Literature since 2002
- Review, Var, NA - Review, IBD, NA - Review, Stroke, NA
*Half-Life↝, One study using H-shikonin in mice showed that shikonin was rapidly absorbed after oral and intramuscular administration, with a half-life in plasma of 8.79 h and a distribution volume of 8.91 L/kg.
*BioAv↓, shikonin is generally used in creams and ointments, that is, oil-based preparations; indeed, its insolubility in water is usually the cause of its low bioavailability
*BioAv↑, 200-fold increase in the solubility, photostability, and in vitro permeability of shikonin through the formation of a 1 : 1 inclusion complex with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin.
*BioAv↑, 181-fold increase in the solubility of shikonin in aqueous media in the presence of β-lactoglobulin at a concentra- tion of 3.1 mg/mL
*Inflam↓, anti-inflammatory effect of shikonin
*TNF-α↓, shikonin inhibited TNF-α production in LPS-stimulated rat primary macrophages as well as NF-κB translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus.
*other↑, authors found that treatment with shikonin prevented the shortening of the colorectum and decreased weight loss by 5 % while improving the ap- pearance of feces and preventing bloody stools.
*MPO↓, MPO activity was reduced as well as the expression of COX-2, the activation of NF-κB and that of STAT3.
*COX2↓,
*NF-kB↑,
*STAT3↑,
*antiOx↑, Antioxidant Effects of Shikonin
*ROS↓, radical scavenging activity of shikonin
*neuroP↑, shown to exhibit a neuroprotective effect against the damage caused by ischemia/reperfusion in adult male Kunming mice
*SOD↑, it also attenuated neuronal damage and the upregulation of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities while reducing the glutathione/glutathione disulfide ratio.
*Catalase↑,
*GPx↑,
*Bcl-2↑, shikonin upregulated Bcl-2, downregulated Bax and prevented cell nuclei from undergoing morphological changes typical of apoptosis.
*BAX↓,
cardioP↑, Two different studies have suggested a possible cardioprotective effect of shikonin that would be related to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
AntiCan↑, A wide spectrum of anticancer mechanisms of action have been described for shikonin:
NF-kB↓, suppression of NF-κB-regulated gene products [44],
ROS↑, ROS generation [46],
PKM2↓, inhibition of tumor-specific pyruvate kinase-M2 [47,48]
TumCCA↑, cell cycle arrest [49]
Necroptosis↑, or induction of necroptosis [50],
Apoptosis↑, shikonin at 1 μM induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in U937 cells after 6 h with an increase in DNA fragmentation, intracellular ROS, low mitochondrial membrane potential
DNAdam↑,
MMP↓,
Cyt‑c↑, At 10 μM, shikonin induced a greater release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria and of lactate dehydrogenase,
LDH↝,

2215- SK,  doxoR,    Shikonin alleviates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity via Mst1/Nrf2 pathway in mice
- in-vivo, Nor, NA
*cardioP↑, Mice receiving shikonin showed reduced cardiac injury response and enhanced cardiac function after DOX administration
*ROS↓, Shikonin significantly attenuated DOX-induced oxidative damage, inflammation accumulation and cardiomyocyte apoptosis.
*Inflam↓,
*Mst1↓, Shikonin protects against DOX-induced cardiac injury by inhibiting Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (Mst1) and oxidative stress and activating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway.
*NRF2↑,
*eff↓, Nrf2 knockdown counteracted the protective effects of shikonin on cardiac injury and dysfunction caused by DOX in mice
*antiOx↑, Previous studies have shown that shikonin possesses direct and indirect antioxidant properties, as evidenced by its ability to restore SOD expression and GSH levels, as well as block oxidative stress
*SOD↑,
*GSH↑,
*TNF-α↓, shikonin decreased the elevlated cardiac TNF-α induced by DOX
BAX↓, Shikonin attenuated DOX-induced upregulation of Bax and the down-regulation of Bcl-2
Bcl-2↑,


* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 2

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

ROS↑, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

MMP↓, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

LDH↝, 1,   PKM2↓, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Apoptosis↑, 1,   BAX↓, 1,   Bcl-2↑, 1,   Cyt‑c↑, 1,   Necroptosis↑, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

TumCCA↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

NF-kB↓, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

LDH↝, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

AntiCan↑, 1,   cardioP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 15

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 2,   Catalase↑, 1,   GPx↑, 1,   GSH↑, 1,   MPO↓, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 2,   SOD↑, 2,  

Cell Death ⓘ

BAX↓, 1,   Bcl-2↑, 1,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

other↑, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

Mst1↓, 1,   STAT3↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 2,   NF-kB↑, 1,   TNF-α↓, 2,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 1,   BioAv↑, 2,   eff↓, 1,   Half-Life↝, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

cardioP↑, 1,   neuroP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 23

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: cardioP, cardioProtective
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:150  Target#:1188  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=on  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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