Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of conditions that occur together, including obesity, insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, gouty arthritis, and hypertension (Ashour et al., 2023; Kumari et al., 2019; Mohamed et al., 2023). The main pathophysiological factors for MetS appear to be a variety of stressors culminating in a state of chronic inflammation, that leads to CVD (Rochlani et al., 2017). Globally, the prevalence of Mets has risen dramatically in recent decades. According to statistics, this illness affects 14%–32% of the global population, and its prevalence increases with age in both sexes (Francini-Pesenti et al., 2019). Changes in our lifestyle, as well as food and physical activity, are the first-line treatments for MetS. Some natural substances and dietary ingredients, known as nutraceuticals, have been demonstrated to help with MetS treatment (Ahire et al., 2023; Mohamed et al., 2023). It has been established that diets rich in vegetables, such as the Mediterranean diet, can help prevent MetS (Finicelli et al., 2019). Because of the presence of bioactive elements such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, these diets are regarded to be healthful. When lifestyle adjustments are ineffective, phytochemicals may be able to help improve lipid levels (Francini-Pesenti et al., 2019).

Plant secondary metabolites found in foods that can control metabolic processes are known as bioactive components. Natural product research suggests that they may be useful as therapeutic and preventive agents for diseases such as inflammation, oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance (Francini-Pesenti et al., 2019). Lepidium meyenii Walp. (Maca, Family Brassicaceae) has a long history of cultivation in the Andes of South America at an altitude of 3500–4000 m (Chen et al., 2021). It is now successfully grown in numerous nations and has been cultivated and utilized as a food and medicine by Andean people in Peru for approximately 1300–2000 years (Beharry and Heinrich, 2018). It became a major herbal medication in China in the late 1990s and is currently widely cultivated to improve the metabolic conditions (Beharry and Heinrich, 2018; Gonzales, 2012). Maca extract has active ingredients such as polyphenols, isothiocyanates, alkaloids, glucosinolates, and sterols in addition to nutritional components like amino acids, polysaccharides, lipids, vitamins, and other trace essentials (Chen et al., 2021). In silico targets fishing identified maca's traditional effects on treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases with other complications of metabolic syndrome (Yi et al., 2016), where amide alkaloids are responsible for these effects. Several reports show that the beneficial effects of maca on vital metabolic activities may provide important advantages for the extract to manage the complications of metabolic disorders (Gencoglu, 2023).

Metformin is a biguanide derivative drug for decades as the first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes and obesity. The fundamental mechanism of the antihyperglycemic action of metformin is a nonpancreatic pathway without enhancing insulin secretion; however, it enhances the peripheral tissue insulin sensitivity or response. Metformin additionally suppresses hepatic gluconeogenesis, causing decreases in blood glucose (Prasatthong et al., 2021). In a diet-induced metabolic syndrome (MetS) model, metformin showed hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, cardioprotective, and anti-inflammatory effects, aiding in alleviating metabolic syndrome in rats (Suman et al., 2016). Therefore, this study used metformin as a positive control agent.

In animal models of diet-induced MetS, it has been proven that rats fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) develop symptoms of MetS including lipidic tissue hypertrophy, cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial contractile dysfunction, and liver steatosis (Casacchia et al., 2019). In addition, the hemodynamic and metabolic alterations induced by a high-fat high-carbohydrate diet have been recognized in rats that may be linked to cardiac insulin resistance (Pakdeechote et al., 2014). The study aimed to develop an experimental model of MetS in rats based on a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet (also referred to as the “Western diet”, “the cafeteria diet”), which is considered the most adequate for modeling metabolic disorders like MetS. This diet mimics modern nutrition and reproduces pathogenetic factors and phenomenology of MetS (Birulina et al., 2020). Published evidence documented that fructose administration in various routes, amounts, and durations causes hyperlipidemia, central obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and hypertension, which is foreseeable as a metabolic syndrome in humans (Nimrouzi et al., 2020).

On the basis of getting the optimal extraction method of maca roots, our previous study was established using different extracts (water, methanol, 50% methanol, and methylene chloride) and investigated for their potential against MetS complications in vitro (renin and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities in addition to five antioxidant complementary assays). Maca roots total methanolic extract (MTE) exhibited the best activity and so was analyzed using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC/HRMS) with 120 metabolites from different classes, e.g., alkaloids, glucosinolates, alkylamides, hydantoin derivatives, and organic acids were identified (Ibrahim et al., 2022). In this study, the optimized extract of maca roots (MTE) was traced in vivo for its potential to manage the metabolic syndrome and other changes that are often associated with MetS, like nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, high blood sugars, and high cholesterol levels.