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.

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.