Phytochemical Constituents of Bletilla striata and Their Cytotoxic Activity

Column chromatographic separation of the MeOH extract from the tubers of Bletilla striata yielded seven phenolic components including four phenanthrenes, 3,7-dihydroxy-2,4-dimethoxyphenanthrene (1), 3,7-dihydroxy-2,4,8-trimethoxyphenanthrene (2), 9,10-dihydro-4,7-dimethoxyphenanthrene-2,8-diol (3), and 9,10-dihydro-1-(4'-hydroxybenzyl)-4,7-dimethoxyphenanthrene-2,8-diol (4) and three stilbenes, gigantol (5), 3',4"-dihydroxy-5',3",5"-trimethoxybibenzyl (6), and batatasin III (7). Their structures were determined on the basis of NMR spectroscopic data. Among them, compound 2, 3, and 6 were reported for the first time from this plant. The isolated compounds (1-7) were tested for cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines in vitro using a Sulforhodamin B bioassay.