Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Phytochemical Properties of Weeds of Poaceae Family

Weed plants are a significant therapeutic plant in India.Since the beginning of time, they have been utilized in almost all traditional medical practices, such as ayurveda, unani and siddahs.This study characterizes the antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity and phytochemical analysis of five commonly identified weed plants of Poaceae family such as Sorghum halepense, Dactyloctenium aegyptium, Setaria viridis, Cynodon dactylon, and Avena sativa.Antibacterial activity was conducted against the Bacillus rhizoplanae, Pseudomonas protogens and antifungal against Penicillium xyleborini, Phoma herbarum, Trichoderma reesei by using the disc-diffusion method and antioxidant activity by using spectrophotometric assays.Results revealed that methanolic extracts of all the plants have phyto-constituents in them.For antibacterial activity, S. halepense shows a maximum zone of inhibition of 9 mm and C. dactylon shows maximum antifungal activity against fungi P. herbarum and T. reesei.The highest antioxidant capacity measured by DPPH (1.637, 1.362, 1.333, 1.212 respectively) method was also obtained in S. viridis, being the highest antioxidant activity with an absorbance of 1.791 at 517 nm.This amazing antioxidant activity in plants is attributed to various kinds of phytochemicals.These plant extracts can improve environmental quality and bio-valorization in addition to encouraging people's health.The phytochemical profile of weed plants becomes instrumental in creating functional and health-promoting food products.Incorporating these plants into the food industry can enhance the nutritional content of various products, providing consumers with not only flavorful options but also foods rich in bioactive compounds with potential health benefits.