Herbacetin, a natural product isolated and purified from the herbs of Equisetum hyemale L., induces HepG2 apoptosis in a ROS-mediated mitochondria-dependent manner that correlate with the inactivation of the PI3K/Akt pathway, exerts an anti-inflammatory effect through suppression of LPS-induced JNK and NF-κB signaling pathways and diminished production of proinflammatory cytokines and mediators, and is a Met inhibitor with a potential utility in cancer therapeutics, suppresses the HGF-induced motility of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells by inhibiting c-Met and Akt phosphorylation. It was found to efficiently block the enzymatic activity of SARS-CoV 3CLpro.