Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaeaL.) extract contains various active ingredients with strong inhibitory effects on cancer cell growth. HepG2 cells were treated with various concentrations of lingonberry extract, cell inhibition rate was measured by CCK-8 assay, and apoptosis rate by annexin-propidium iodide double-staining assay. The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry, and cell migration and invasion by transwell assay. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR and western blotting were employed to analyze the expression of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 3 (CXCL3). Ki-67, TUNEL, and transwell assays were used to verify the relationship between CXCL3 expression and cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion. The composition of lingonberry extract was: 37.58% cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, 10.96% kaempferol 3-O-arabinoside, 4.52% epicatechin, 4.35% chlorogenic acid, 3.83% catechinic acid, 1.54% isoquercitrin, 1.05% 4-hydroxycinnamon acid, 1.03% cyanidin chloride, 0.85% 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 0.55% quercetin, 0.36% D-(-)-quininic acid, 0.96% caffeic acid, 0.16% ferulic acid, 0.12% oleanolic acid, and 0.03% ursolic acid. Lingonberry extract inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner. After 48 h exposure to 100 μg/mL extract the inhibition rate and IC₅₀were 80.89±6.05% and 22.62 μg/mL, respectively. Lingonberry extract promoted late apoptosis in HepG2 cells and arrested the cell cycle at G2/M and S phases. Lingonberry extract also promoted the apoptosis of HepG2 cancer cells, inhibiting their proliferation, migration, and invasion by regulating the expression of CXCL3. This study offers new insight into the antihepatoma activity of lingonberry extract and provides a basis for the development of pilot antitumor drugs.

Oxidative stress from exogenous insults is a major driver of skin aging and hyperpigmentation. Plant-derived bioactive compounds represent promising multifunctional agents with protective effects on skin. They meet the demand for natural, safe skin-protective agents with well-defined action mechanisms. However, current studies lack an integrated understanding of their dual cellular protective mechanisms: antioxidation and autophagy. A unified “component–pathway–efficacy” regulatory network remains lacking, which limits mechanistic insights into skin protection. To address this gap, this comprehensive narrative review retrieved literature from four authoritative databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Wiley Online Library. With targeted keyword retrieval, 129 core studies published between 2021 and 2025 were selected for synthesis. The selection was based on relevance, methodological rigor, and scientific impact. This review constructs a novel “antioxidation–autophagy” synergistic regulatory model. It also establishes a consolidated dual-mechanism framework outlining the “component–pathway–efficacy” axis. This framework reduces knowledge fragmentation across natural product research, skin biology and translational molecular biology. This work integrates the dual protective mechanisms of plant-derived bioactive compounds for skin protection and translational applications. It provides a theoretical basis for understanding their molecular regulatory logic and facilitates further mechanistic studies and translational research on skin protection.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a high-value non-psychoactive constituent of industrial hemp with diverse pharmacological activities. However, its low natural abundance, poor thermal stability, and the difficulty in removing psychoactive Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limit the efficient and scalable preparation of high-purity CBD. Although recent reviews cover the cannabis processing chain or chromatographic isolation, a systematic and quantitative comparison of extraction and downstream purification as an integrated workflow is still lacking. This review establishes an integrated comparative framework for producing high-purity CBD from industrial hemp. Conventional solvent extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, physical field-assisted extraction, and green solvent extraction are compared. Mainstream purification approaches, including molecular distillation, chromatography, and crystallization, are discussed, with emphasis on continuous chromatographic strategies such as simulated moving bed (SMB) and recycling chromatography, alongside a critical assessment of their current laboratory/preparative-scale validation and scale-up feasibility. The analysis shows that no single technique can simultaneously balance efficiency, purity, and cost; multi-technology coupling is a promising strategy for future industrial translation. Future research should focus on continuous chromatography, green solvents, process integration, and intelligent manufacturing to bridge the gap between laboratory validation and scalable industrial production.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly malignant tumour with a poor prognosis and few effective treatment options. Development of resistance to conventional therapies and occurrence of severe side effects highlight the urgent need for novel, low-toxicity interventions. Natural products are promising candidates for HCC drug development thanks to their multi-target activity and favourable safety profiles. Previous studies reported that Lingonberry extract, a bioactive natural product, inhibits proliferation of HepG₂ cells. However, the key molecular targets and underlying anticancer mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we analysed gene chip data from Lingonberry extract-treated HepG₂ tumour-bearing mice using bioinformatics tools, employing a cross-species, multi-level screening strategy to identify PSMB8 as the core regulatory gene. In vitro functional validations (Western blotting, RT-PCR, CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry and TUNEL staining) confirmed these findings. Downregulating PSMB8 was found to effectively induce late apoptosis in HepG₂ cells, and Lingonberry extract was found to significantly reduce PSMB8 protein expression. This study identifies PSMB8 as a key mediator of the anticancer effect of Lingonberry extract in HepG₂ cells. It provides a reliable methodological reference for screening anticancer targets of natural products and supports further exploration of Lingonberry extract as a potential adjuvant/lead compound for HCC.