• Identified 673 miRNAs from Persicaria chinensis, including 422 novel and 251 conserved, with pch-miR319a as the most abundant conserved miRNA.
• Demonstrated that pch-miR319a targets ITGA3, a gene associated with cervical cancer progression, via dual-luciferase reporter assay.
• Overexpression of pch-miR319a reduced viability, migration, and induced apoptosis in HeLa cervical cancer cells in vitro.
• In a syngeneic mouse model, pch-miR319a treatment inhibited tumor growth and downregulated ITGA3 and Ki-67, suggesting therapeutic potential.