94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1571554
Lycium barbarum L.: A Potential Botanical Drug for Preventing and Treating Retinal Cell Apoptosis
Provisionally accepted
Meng Xiong 1
Jun Peng 2
Shunhua Zhou 1
Qing Gao 1 Jing Lu 3 Chen Ou 2
Houpan Song 1*
Qinghua Peng 1*- 1 Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
- 2 The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
- 3 Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology Diseases with Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
Retinal cell apoptosis is the primary pathological process in many retinal diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, which can cause severe visual impairment and blindness. Lycium barbarum L., a traditional Chinese medicinal botanical drug, has a long history and extensive application in ophthalmic disease prevention and treatment. This study systematically reviewed the key active metabolites in Lycium barbarum L., including Lycium barbarum polysaccharides, carotenoids, and flavonoids, that exert retinal protective effects. A comprehensive analysis of the pharmacological effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of Lycium barbarum L. and its active metabolites in the prevention and treatment of retinal cell apoptosis, including essential aspects such as antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory properties, autophagy regulation, and mitochondrial function preservation, is essential to establish a comprehensive and solid theoretical basis for further investigation of the medicinal value of Lycium barbarum L. in ophthalmology and provide a reference for future research directions.
Keywords: Lycium barbarum L., Retinal cells, Apoptosis, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Agerelated macular degeneration
Received: 05 Feb 2025; Accepted: 03 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiong, Peng, Zhou, Gao, Lu, Ou, Song and Peng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Houpan Song, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
Qinghua Peng, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.