The combined application of
statins that inhibit
HMG-CoA reductase and
fibrates that activate
PPAR-α can produce a better
lipid-lowering effect than the simple application, but with stronger adverse reactions at the same time. In the treatment of
hyperlipidemia, the combined administration of TCMs and
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor in treating
hyperlipidemia shows stable efficacy and less adverse reactions, and provides a new option for the combined application of drugs. In this article, the pharmacophore technology was used to search chemical components of TCMs, trace their source herbs, and determine the potential common TCMs that could activate
PPAR-α. Because there is no
hyperlipidemia-related medication reference in modern TCM classics, to ensure the high safety and efficacy of all selected TCMs, we selected TCMs that are proved to be combined with
statins in the World Traditional/Natural
Medicine Patent Database, analyzed corresponding drugs in pharmacophore results based on that, and finally obtained common TCMs that can be applied in
PPAR-α and combined with
statins. Specifically, the pharmacophore model was based on eight receptor-
ligand complexes of
PPAR-α. The Receptor-
Ligand Pharmacophore Generation module in the DS program was used to build the model, optimize with the Screen Library module, and get the best sub-pharmacophore, which consisted of two hydrogen bond acceptor, three hydrophobic groups and 19 excluded volumes, with the identification effectiveness index value N of 2. 82 and the comprehensive evaluation index CAI value of 1. 84. The model was used to screen the TCMD database, hit 5,235 kinds of chemical components and 1 193 natural animals and plants, and finally determine 62 TCMs. Through patent retrieval, we found 38 TCMs; After comparing with the virtual screening results, we finally got seven TCMs.