Mechanisms of Salvia miltiorrhiza Health Products in Blood Lipid Management: Insights from Data Mining, Network Pharmacology, and Molecular Docking

Background: This work aims to systematically investigate the formulation rules and potential mechanisms of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (SM)-containing health products to support healthy blood lipid levels.Materials and methods: Data on SM-containing health products were retrieved from official databases. Formulation patterns were analyzed using frequency statistics and association rule mining. An integrated network pharmacology strategy was then used to explore potential regulatory mechanisms, including active compound screening, target prediction, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network construction, and functional enrichment analysis. Results were further validated using molecular docking.Results: A total of 477 approved products were analyzed, with “helping maintain blood lipid levels” as the primary health function claim. These products contained 160 compatible medicinal herbs, which are mainly mild-cold in nature and sweet in flavor. They are commonly used for “deficiency tonification” and “blood-activating and stasis-resolving” in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A total of 267 compounds and 181 key targets were identified for the lipid-regulating function of SM. These targets were enriched in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling, Lipid and Atherosclerosis, and the Regulation of Lipolysis in adipocytes. Eight targets, including AKT1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG), were identified as core targets. Finally, molecular docking results suggested potential binding affinities between primary active components and core targets.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that SM exerts its lipid-regulating effects via multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mechanisms. These findings provided a theoretical basis for the rational development and application of relevant health products.