Euphorbia tirucalli Linn. is traditionally used as medicine especially in the treatment of diseases
caused by bacterial pathogens. The objectives of the present study were to identify the bioactive
compounds in the stem of Euphorbia tirucalli Linn. using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS)
analysis, and to investigate their potentials as an alternative for antimicrobial activity. Two-microliters
of dried powdered of Euphorbia tirucalli Linn. stem were mixed with methanol followed by injection into
splitless mode of GC-MS. Separation was achieved by Elite-5MS fused capillary column. The mass spectra
were compared with the spectra of known components stored in the NIST and WILEY databases for
compound identification. Forty-six chemical constituents were identified. The major constituents were
lanosta-8,24-dien-3-ol, (3β)- (13.60%), (23S)-ethylcholest-5-en-(3β)-ol (7.02%), linoleic acid (2.96%) and
viminalol (2.57%). Most of the active compounds present in the stem of Euphorbia tirucalli Linn. have
previously been shown to exhibit antimicrobial properties.