###### Abstract  
Gastric cancer (GC) still represents a relevant health problem in the world for both incidence and mortality rates. Many studies underlined that natural products consumption could reduce GC risk, indicating flavonoids as responsible for the beneficial effects through the modulation of several biological processes, such as the inhibition of cancer antioxidant defense and induction of apoptosis. Since _Feijoa sellowiana_ fruit is known to contain high amounts of flavonoids, among which is flavone, we evaluated the antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of _F. sellowiana_ acetonic extract on GC cell lines through MTS and Annexin-V FITC assays. Among three GC cell lines tested, SNU-1 results being sensitive to both the _F. sellowiana_ acetonic extract and synthetic flavone, which was used as the reference treatment. Moreover, we evaluated their antioxidant effects, assessing the activity of the antioxidant enzymes supeoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in polymorphonuclear cells. We found a significant increase of their activity after exposure to both _F. sellowiana_ acetonic extract and flavone, supporting the idea that a diet that includes flavone-rich fruits could be of benefit for health. In addition to this antioxidant effect on normal cells, this study indicates, for the first time, an anticancer effect of _F. sellowiana_ acetonic extract in GC cells. gastric cancer; _feijoa sellowiana_; antioxidant activity; anticancer activity +
Footnote †: journal: Medical  
divided into the following six subgroup: flavones, flavanones, flavanones, flavanols, flavonoids, isoflavones and anthocyanins [12]. Accordingly, the cancer risk could be reduced by flavonoids consumption by modulating several biological process, as well as the inhibition of cancer antioxidant defense [13], induction of apoptosis [14] and constraining angiogenesis [15]. In addition, it has been observed that an antimicrobial effect of several flavonoids inhibited _Helicobacter pylori_ growth [16; 17]. Although the literature data support the idea that flavonoids consumption inversely correlates with digestive tract cancers, epidemiological evidence remains poor. In a recent meta-analysis, it was reported that a flavonoids-rich diet could reduce GC risk and highlighted a difference between European and American and Asian populations [18; 19]. Geographical variability of food intake could explain this diversity. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that flavonoids exert different effects on GC according to their subclass intake and the histological type or localization of GC [20; 21]. Recently, we reported the antioxidant, antibacterial and anticancer activity of _Feijoa selloviana_ acetate extract, identifying flavones as the most active components [16; 22; 23]. _Feijoa selloviana_ ([PERSON]) Myrtaceae, also known as _Acca selloviana_, originates from the subtropical zone of South America, but it is well-acclimated in California, Florida and Italy and, in general, in mild climate areas. Fruits are edible berries whose nutritional and organoleptic properties are remarkable. _F. selloviana_ contains many bioactive compounds, such as terpen, tannins, quinones, steroidal saponins and methyl- and ethyl-benzoate, responsible of the typical strong \"Feijoa-like\" taste, high amounts of bioflavonoids or vitamin P and (P)-active polyphenols [24]. Pharmacological activities were demonstrated for the acetone extract and pure substances from _F. selloviana_. Among them, interestingly, antibacterial and antifungal activities have been observed [16; 25; 26; 27], hypothesizing, in a more recent paper, also the target [23]. Moreover, in the last years, it has been demonstrated as the pivotal role in bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR) modulation [28], as well as the antibacterial activity related to MDR bacterial strains [29].