• Identified 673 miRNAs in Persicaria chinensis, including 422 novel and 251 conserved miRNAs, with pch-miR319a being the most abundant.
• pch-miR319a from P. chinensis directly targets ITGA3, a gene associated with cervical cancer progression.
• Overexpression of pch-miR319a inhibits cervical cancer cell viability, migration, and induces apoptosis in vitro.
• In a syngeneic mouse model, pch-miR319a treatment suppresses tumor growth and downregulates ITGA3 and Ki-67 expression.