The present invention relates to a formulation in which glycolipids and phospholipids, isolated from rice bran gum samples, were used in conjunction with gene carrying lipids to test its efficacy in delivering genes to cancer cells selectively. This formulation did not mediate efficient delivery of genes to non-cancerous cells, thus, showing potential use of this formulation to deliver anticancer therapeutics to cancer cells without eliciting treatment related toxicity to normal cells