Diversity and Phytochemical Screening of Invasive Plant Species in Bhubaneswar Municipality, Odisha, India

Invasive plant species reduce the physiological ability of normal native plants by growing invasively on them and, as a result, become a threat for the native phytodiversity. The current study on invasive plant species demonstrates the diversity and biochemical analysis conducted by utilizing data collected from field exploration and laboratory work. 72 different species belonging to 39 families of alien plants were recorded in the locality of Bhubaneswar. Out of these, 80% are herb species, followed by 15% shrubs, 2% trees, and 3% climbers. Asteraceae was the dominant family, with Chromolaena odorata as the most widely reported species, followed by Cleome viscosa and Parthenium hysterophorus. It was marked that nearly 70% of the expansive alien species are native to American nativity and 30% belong to other continents such as those of African and Asian origin. In terms of habitat of invasive plants, wastelands ranked highest (69%), followed by roadsides (13%), agricultural lands (10%), aquatic (2%), and others (6%). The presence of secondary metabolites can provide an initial concept regarding the ethnobotanical and pharmaceutical application of different invasive plants. The phytochemical analysis of stem and leaf extracts (aqueous and methanol) of selected high population density alien plants recorded in different study areas showed flavonoid and alkaloid presence in almost all the plant samples. The highest quantity of flavonoid (9.8% W/W) and alkaloid (17.2% W/W) was marked in the methanol extract of Mimosa pudica.