Acute liver failure （ALF） is one of the most critical liver diseases in clinical practice and seriously affects the life and health of Chinese people. Due to its high morbidity and mortality rates， unclear pathogenesis， and limited treatment methods， ALF has become a major problem that needs to be solved urgently in the field of liver diseases. In recent years， more and more studies have shown that endoplasmic reticulum stress is a key biological process in the progression of ALF， and the IRE1α/TRAF2/JNK pathway， as a part of endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling， plays a role in amplifying inflammatory response， promoting hepatocyte apoptosis， and inhibiting liver regeneration ability during the progression of diseases. As a traditional treasure of China， traditional Chinese medicine has become a research hotspot in search for effective prevention and treatment drugs for ALF from monomers of Chinese herbs. This article elaborates on the mechanism of action of the IRE1α/TRAF2/JNK pathway in the progression of ALF and summarizes the potential value of several monomers of Chinese herbs in regulating this pathway， such as salidroside， Fructus Broussonetiae， Fructus Psoraleae+Schisandra chinensis， baicalein， genipin， kaempferol， resveratrol， sea buckthorn polysaccharide extract， and luteol， in order to provide a reference for further research and clinical practice of ALF.

Lipid metabolism， as the basis of life maintenance， is a prerequisite for cell survival， and lipid homeostasis can rapidly respond to metabolic changes in a coordinated manner. In cancers， there is an increase in lipid metabolism in cancer cells to meet the requirements for plasma membrane synthesis and energy production. Abnormal lipid metabolism plays an important role in the progression of primary liver cancer. This article reviews the association between abnormal lipid metabolism and primary liver cancer， in order to find targets for the prevention and treatment of primary liver cancer.