Establishing the dominating behavior of an aquatic plant ‘ Najas marina ’ L.

Through this study, an attempt has been made to understand the dominance of an obnoxious weed species Najas marina L. , in Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh, India. The weed has been affecting the plant community in this water body. Phytochemical screening of the species in aqueous, ethanol and hexane solvents has revealed the presence of different phytoconstituents which may have their role in regulating its dominance. These chemicals are released into the water from the fragments or as leachates from decomposed plant parts. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) were performed to get the detailed account of the chemical compounds present in this plant. Phenolics along with some specific chemical compounds, like Þ-hydroxybenzoic, Þ-coumaric, ferrulic, syringic acids etc. are to be responsible for the dominating behavior of N. marina . These phytoconstituents are possibly allelopathic in nature thus individually or in different combinations suppressing the growth of the adjoining species in the water body, and enable this species to flourish.