The invention discloses an application of
plant-derived miRNA in preparation of antitumor drugs, and belongs to the technical field of biological medicines and functional
nucleic acid molecules. The miRNA is mul-miRNA-n16 from mulberry (Morus alba), and the
nucleotide sequence of the miRNA is as shown in SEQ ID No: 1; in-vitro experiments prove that overexpression of mul-miRNA-n16 in a
liver cancer cell line (such as HepG2) can significantly inhibit
cell proliferation and reduce the
cell growth rate; meanwhile, the migration and invasion ability of
liver cancer cells can be remarkably inhibited, and it is prompted that the polypeptide possibly participates in regulation and control of
diffusion and
metastasis of tumors through a plurality of
signal channels; in a HepG2 tumor-bearing mouse model, local delivery of the mul-miRNA-n16 simulant can also effectively inhibit tumor volume increase, and it is verified that the mul-miRNA-n16 has
antitumor activity in vivo; the invention discloses the functional application of mul-miRNA-n16 and the mimic thereof in inhibiting the tumor process for the first time, and provides a new research thought and application basis for developing
plant-derived anti-tumor molecules with a novel action mechanism, low toxic and side effects and high targeting property.