Antitumor plants. X. Constituents of Nectandra rigida.

The major cytotoxic activity of crude extracts of Nectandra rigida Nees is due to dehydrodiisoeugenol,the sample isolated being slightly enriched in the dextrorotatory enantiomer. Galgravin and two new tetrahydrofuranoid lignans, nectandrin A and nectandrin B, were also isolated and characterized along with small quantities of vanillin, 2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone, and the known lauraceous alkaloid laurelliptine. The neolignans are of potential chemotaxonomic significance in the study of the Lauraceae.