Cytotoxic 9,10-Dihydrophenanthrenes from Juncus effusus L.

Nine 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes, seven of them described for the first time, have been isolated in a further investigation of Juncus effusus. The structures have been defined on the basis of the spectral properties of the compounds. All the dehydrophenanthrene metabolites present in the plant have been tested for their cytotoxic properties and many of them have been found to have a good in vitro activity.