Research Article Phytochemical Analysis and Antimicrobial/Antioxidant Activity of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. Rhizome Methanolic Extract Samira Savadi, 1 Mohsen Vazifedoost , 1 Zohre Didar, 1 Mohammad Mahdi Nematshahi, 2 and Eisa Jahed 3 1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran 2 Department of Food Science and Technology & Young Researchers and Elite Club, Sabzevar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar, Iran 3 Department of Food Science and Technology, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran Correspondence should be addressed to Mohsen Vazifedoost; m.vazifedoost@iau-neyshabur.ac.ir Received 3 December 2019; Revised 27 January 2020; Accepted 5 March 2020; Published 1 April 2020 Academic Editor: Jorge Barros-Vel´ azquez Copyright © 2020 Samira Savadi et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A proper use of medicinal plants requires accurate scientific information and understanding of their chemical constituents. e therapeutic effects in the plants are due to the chemical compounds therein. Cynodondactylon (L.) Pers. of the family Poaceae is a perennial, pan-tropical species of grass which is a well-known traditional medicine and has a renowned position for treatment of many symptoms and diseases. e chemical composition, free radical scavenging activity, and antimicrobial properties of the methanolic extract of C. dactylon rhizomes against selected bacterial and fungal strains were investigated using disk-diffusion method. e results indicated that the major fatty acid structures of C. dactylon methanolic extract were palmitic acid (36.40%), oleic acid (28.26%), and linoleic acid (17.01%). Alpha-tocopherol (151.39mg·kg −1 ) and sitosterol (3199.62mg·kg −1 ) were the main tocopherols and sterols, respectively. According to the instrumental analysis, the total phenolic compounds of methanolic extract were equal to 917.08mg·kg −1 and the main compound was hydroquinone (66.89%). Antioxidant activity of the methanolic extract at concentrations of 100–1000ppm was 9.81–67.87%, which is significantly different from the 200ppm synthetic antioxidant (BHT) with free radical scavenging activity equal to 48.93% (p < 0.05). e antimicrobial study revealed that the methanolic extract of C.dactylon rhizomes was effective against all of the bacterial pathogens and the antibacterial activity increased with an increase in the concentration of extract. erefore, the largest zone of inhibition was observed against Bacillus cereus (18.3 ± 0.4 mm) and Escherichia coli (16.8 ± 0.5 mm) at 1000 ppm. e highest resistance was observed with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (inhibition zone of 12.8 ± 0.15 mm). Methanolic extract at 200 ppm had no effect against fungus Aspergillus niger. However, at 1000 ppm concentration, an inhibition zone with a diameter of 14.4 ± 0.45 mm was formed. 1. Introduction Medicinal plants play a very important role in the devel- opment of alternative drugs without the adverse effects of the synthetic drugs [1]. Plants and natural products form the basis of both modern and traditional medicines and now- adays they are widely used in the production of commer- cially produced drugs. Scientific and reliable reports indicated that about 25% of prescribed medicines worldwide are taken from herbs [2]. Plant essential oils, extracts, and various kinds of secondary metabolites are known as sub- stances with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties with little or no toxic effects, which are vital in the management of many diseases [2, 3]. Actually, secondary metabolites with tremendous biological potential, known as phytochemicals, are ubiquitously present in plants and now are used as the mainstay of drug development [4]. As reported in the literature, according to an estimation of the WHO, about 80 percent of the world’s population in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East in Hindawi Journal of Food Quality Volume 2020, Article ID 5946541, 10 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5946541