Pharmacological and analytical aspects of alkannin/shikonin and their derivatives: An update from 2008 to 2022

Kirandeep Kaur; Rashi Sharma; Atamjit Singh; Shivani Attri; Saroj Arora; Sarabjit Kaur; Neena Bedi

doi:10.1016/j.chmed.2022.08.001

Pharmacological and analytical aspects of alkannin/shikonin and their derivatives: An update from 2008 to 2022

Chin Herb Med. 2022 Sep 20;14(4):511-527. doi: 10.1016/j.chmed.2022.08.001. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Authors

Kirandeep Kaur¹, Rashi Sharma¹, Atamjit Singh¹, Shivani Attri², Saroj Arora², Sarabjit Kaur¹, Neena Bedi¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, India.
² Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, India.

Abstract

Alkannin/shikonin (A/S) and their derivatives are naturally occurring naphthoquinones majorly found in Boraginaceae family plants. They are integral constituents of traditional Chinese medicine Zicao (roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon). In last two decades significant increase in pharmacological investigations on alkannin/shikonin and their derivatives has been reported that resulted in discovery of their novel mechanisms in various diseases and disorders. This review throws light on recently conducted pharmacological investigations on alkannin/shikonin and their derivatives and their outputs. Various analytical aspects are also discussed and brief summary of patent applications on inventions containing alkannin/shikonin and its derivatives is also provided.

Keywords: alkannin; naphthoquinones; patents; shikonin.

Publication types

Review