To preliminarily explore the underlying mechanism of paederosidic acid(PA) in inducing the apoptosis of gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells and inhibiting their malignant proliferation and invasion.Methods:The concentration gradient test was conducted on SGC-7901 cells by CCK-8 to determine the subsequent experimental concentration.The changes in the apoptosis rate of SGC-7901 cells and mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP) after PA treatment(0,20,40,and 80 μg/mL) were detected by flow cytometry.The proliferation activity and invasion ability of SGC-7901 cells were detected by BrdU staining and Transwell assay.The relative expression levels of tumor suppressor genes(P53 and P21) were detected by qRT-PCR.The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins(Bcl-2,Bax,Caspase-3,and c-Myc) and metastasis-related proteins(VEGF and vimentin) were detected by Western blot.Results:As revealed by the CCK-8 concentration gradient test,PA at the concentration higher than 40 μg/mL showed inhibitory effects on the activity of SGC-7901 cells(P<0.05).The subsequent experimental concentrations were determined as 20,40,and 80 μg/mL.Compared with the results after PA treatment at 0 μg/mL,the apoptosis rate of SGC-7901 cells,protein expression levels of Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved-Caspase-3/Caspase-3,and relative mRNA expression levels of P53 and P21 increased,while MMP,cell proliferation activity,invasion rate,and protein expression levels of c-Myc,VEGF,and vimentin decreased after PA treatment at 40 and 80 μg/mL(P<0.05).Conclusion:PA may induce cell apoptosis by reducing MMP and promoting mitochondrial apoptosis pathway to promote the expression of anti-oncogenes,inhibit malignant proliferation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition,and reduce the invasion ability.