PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF LANTANA CAMARA L. AND PARTHENIUM HYSTEROPHORUS L. FROM THE ARAVALLI HILLS OF RAJASTHAN

Lantana camara Linn. and Parthenium hysterophorus Linn. are among the invasive species of Arvalii Hills. The present study documents the comparison between the phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activity of these Invasive alien species (IAS). Leaf and flower samples of the plants were subjected to different solvents for extraction. The qualitative phytochemical creening of the plant samples indicated the presence of bioactive compounds, such as carbohydrates, proteins, flavonoids, phenols and tannins. The antioxidant activity of the crude extracts was also investigated by quantification of total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, total tannin content, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and DPPH assay. Out of all the investigated crude extracts, L. camara leaves extract possessed the highest antioxidant activity with highest TFC, 175.62 ± 10.32 mg mg RE/g dried extract, TTC, 430.42 ± 20.70 mg GAE/g dried extract; FRAP, 2001.33 ± 41.46 mg/g dried extract Fe²⁺ eq; and the minimum IC₅₀ value of 30.3 µg ml⁻¹ in DPPH assay, while the flower extract of L. camara possessed the highest TPC of 193 ± 54.98 mg GAE/g dried extract. The crude extracts of P. hysterophorus possessed relatively low antioxidant activity for all investigated parameters. Results of this study suggested that IAS found in Aravalli region may be of considerable interest for their antioxidant activity and may be useful for future pharmacological studies.