OBJECTIVE To study the effects of Sanchong tongluo sanjie formula on the proliferation and apoptosis of Lewis lung cancer cells.METHODS The rats were given Sanchong tongluo sanjie formula powder[0.946 g/(kg·d)],Sanchong tongluo sanjie formula decoction[2.730 g/(kg·d)],and normal saline intragastrically,and injected with Cisplatin injection(4.2 mg/kg)intra-peritoneally to prepare powder-containing serum,decoction-containing serum,positive control serum and negative control serum.Lewis lung cancer cells were divided into negative control serum group,positive control serum group,and 5%,10%,20%drug-containing serum groups.The cell proliferation inhibition rates at 24,48,and 72 hours post-intervention were measured to screen the optimal intervention concentrations of powder-containing serum and decoction-containing serum.The cell invasion ability,metastasis ability and apoptotic rate were detected in the negative control serum group,positive control serum group,20%powder-containing serum group,and 20%decoction-containing serum group.Protein expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α),prolyl hydroxylase-2(PHD2),matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2),extracellular regulated protein kinases(ERK),c-Jun N-terminal kinase(JNK)and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(p38 MAPK)were detected.RESULTS The cell proliferation inhibition rates for both the 20%powder-containing serum group and the 20%decoction-containing serum group,when intervened for 48 hours,were not less than 50%.Compared with negative control serum group,the number of invasive Lewis lung cancer cells and migration distance were decreased significantly,while the apoptotic rate was increased significantly(P＜0.05);the apoptotic rate in the 20%powder-containing serum group was significantly higher than 20%decoction-containing serum group(P＜0.05).The protein expressions of PHD2 and p38 MAPK were increased significantly in the 20%powder-containing serum group(P＜0.05),while the protein expression of HIF-1α was decreased significantly in the 20%decoction-containing serum group(P＜0.05).CONCLUSIONS Sanchong tongluo sanjie formula can inhibit the proliferation,invasion and metastasis of Lewis lung cancer cells while promoting their apoptosis.The mechanism of action may be related to regulating the PHD2/HIF-1α signaling pathway.Furthermore,the powder demonstrates superior efficacy compared to the decoction,suggesting that they may possess different mechanisms of action.