(Rac)-Shikonin (Anchusin) is a natural red naphthoquinone pigment, has antimicrobial, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory effects; a purified shikonin preparation is widely used for the production of medicinals, cosmetics, and some food products; shikonin also enters into the antiinflammatory ointment and cream compositions used for the treatment of burns. It can suppress the cell viability, adhesion, invasion and migratory ability of MGC-803 cells through TLR2- or NF-κB-mediated pathway.

在纳摩尔浓度下，Shikonin抑制单核细胞向多种CC趋化因子（CCL2[单核细胞趋化蛋白1]、CCL3[巨噬细胞炎症蛋白1α]、CCL5[激活后正常T细胞表达和分泌的蛋白]）、CXC趋化因子（CXCL12[基质细胞源性因子1α]）以及经典趋化因子（甲硫氨酸腺苷酞和补体分割产物C5a）的趋化和钙通量反应抑制作用。Shikonin下调巨噬细胞表面CCR5的表达，CCR5是HIV-1的主要辅助受体。Shikonin的抗HIV和抗炎活性可能与其干扰趋化因子受体表达和功能有关。此外，Shikonin还能抑制肠上皮细胞钙激活氯通道的活性，该抑制效应部分通过抑制基底侧K+通道活性实现。

Freshly isolated human monocytes are plated in a 96-microwell plate (Costar) at 105 cells per well with shikonin at a final concentration of 10, 1, 0.1, 0.01 μM. The numbers of viable cells, as detected by MTS test and the trypan blue exclusion assay, were measured 12 and 24 h after incubation at 37°C in humidified air with 5% CO2. (Only for Reference)