In this study, Hoechst 33342 nuclear staining and FACS analysis revealed that treatment of BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer cells with alpinetin for 48 h increased condensed chromatin and Annexin V-positive and PI-negative populations in a dose-dependent manner, which suggested that part of the alpinetin induced suppression was mediated through the induction of apoptosis rather than the necrosis. This evidence concerns the gene ANXA5 and familial pancreatic carcinoma.