In this study, the antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of isolated compounds from the roots of Onosma visianii were investigated. By using different chromatographic techniques and appropriate spectroscopic methods, the seven naphthoquinones were described: deoxyshikonin ( 1 ), isobutyrylshikonin ( 2 ), α-methylbutyrylshikonin ( 3 ), acetylshikonin ( 4 ), β-hydroxyisovalerylshikonin ( 5 ), 5,8-O-dimethyl isobutyrylshikonin ( 6 ) and 5,8-O-dimethyl deoxyshikonin ( 7 ). Among the tested compounds, 3 and 4 exhibited the highest antibacterial activities toward all tested bacterial species (MIC50 and MIC90 for gram positive bacteria: 6.40 μg/mL-12.79 μg/mL and 6.82 μg/mL-13.60 μg/mL, respectively; for gram negative bacteria: 4.27 μg/mL-8.53 μg/mL and 4.77 μg/mL-9.54 μg/mL, respectively). Also, naphthoquinones 3 and 4 exhibited strong cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 cells (IC50 values 86.0 μg/mL and 80.2 μg/mL, respectively), while compounds 1 , 3 , 4 and 5 significantly decreased viability of HCT116 cells (IC50 values of 97.8 μg/mL, 15.2 μg/mL, 24.6 μg/mL and 30.9 μg/mL, respectively). Our results indicated that all tested naphthoquinone pigments are potential candidates for clinical uses as antibacterial and cytotoxic agents.
Keywords: Onosma visianii; antibacterial activity; cytotoxic activity; naphthoquinones.