BackgroundCandida albicanscauses high-mortality candidiasis. Antifungal drug resistance demands the development of virulence factor-targeting drugs, particularly antibiofilm. This study screened the effects of five invasive plants growing in Indonesia (Mimosa pudica,Lantana camara,Acacia mangium,Ageratina riparia, andMikania micrantha) againstC. albicansbiofilms. Antifungal activity, antiphospholipase activity, biofilm morphology ofC. albicans,and cytotoxic capacity were also evaluated.MethodsMaceration was used to extract the plants, and the most active extract inhibiting the biofilms was fractionated using liquid–liquid fractionation. Antibiofilm activity was determined by a colorimetric assay, MTT. Antifungal activity was tested using the broth microdilution method. A phospholipase assay was performed using the egg-yolk agar method. Influence on theC. albicansmorphology was assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cytotoxic effect was carried out against Vero and HeLa cell lines.ResultsM. pudicaextracts showed the most potent antifungal efficacy with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 15.62 µg/mL and 7.81 µg/mL for aerial parts and roots, respectively. At high concentrations (500 µg/mL and 250 µg/mL), ethanol extract ofM. pudicaaerial parts strongly inhibited the phospholipase activity. Ethyl-acetate fraction ofM. pudicaaerial parts demonstrated the most potent antibiofilm activity against 24 h old biofilm ofC. albicanswith an inhibitory concentration (53.89%) of 62.5 µg/mL showed no cytotoxicity in both Vero and HeLa cells. This fraction affected the morphology ofC. albicansand contained promising compounds for inhibiting the 24 h old biofilm ofC. albicans.ConclusionsInvasiveM. pudicaplant inhibited the growth of planktonicC. albicanscells and its ethyl acetate fraction decreased the metabolic activity ofC. albicansbiofilms. This result demonstrates the potential of invasiveM. pudicaplant to reduce biofilm-associated candida infection.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12906-023-04044-2.