Synergy between sublethal doses of shikonin and metformin fully inhibits breast cancer cell migration and reverses epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Background: Shikonin is a natural multipotent anti-tumorigenic compound. We investigated potential synergy between shikonin and anti-diabetic metformin against tumorigenic properties of breast cancer cell line MCF-7.

Methods And Results: The IC of shikonin and metformin was determined after a single treatment of two cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231.