Exploration of potential mechanism of Sanhua Jiangzhi granules for the treatment of hyperlipidemia based on network pharmacology and experimental verification

Sanhua Jiangzhi Granules (SJG) is a traditional Chinese patent medicine known for regulating lipid metabolism. In this study, we utilized UPLC-TOF-MS to analyze the components of SJG and, in conjunction with network pharmacology, identified 125 core chemical constituents. These components were individually queried and intersected with targets related to hyperlipidemia, resulting in the identification of 312 core targets. KEGG and GO analyses suggested that the mechanism of SJG in treating hyperlipidemia may primarily involve the PPAR signaling pathway. To further validate the efficacy and underlying signaling mechanisms of SJG, we conducted experiments using 60 rats. The results indicated that SJG significantly reduced body weight, lowered serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) levels. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results demonstrated that SJG decreased hepatic TC and TG levels and mitigated lipid accumulation in the liver. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining indicated that SJG improved liver pathological morphology and reduced the risk of fatty liver disease. Western blot analyses showed that treatment with SJG down-regulated the expression of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR), phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP), and fatty acid-binding protein 1 (FABP1), while up-regulating the expression of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT-1), and PPARα by activating the PPAR signaling pathway. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that SJG activates the PPAR signaling pathway, leading to decreased body weight, lowered blood lipid levels, reduced hepatic TC and TG, and improved liver pathology in rats.