A new alkaloid pyrroloquinolone A (1), along with fifteen known compounds 2-16 were isolated from the petroleum ether, EtOAc and n-BuOH extracts of the whole plant Atractylis cancellata L. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis including 1D-and 2D-NMR and HR-ESI-MS techniques. This is the first report of alkaloids in the genus Atractylis. Some of the isolated compounds and extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant potential (scavenging activity of DPPH and ABTS radicals, and reducing Fe +3 and Cu +2 power assays) and acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities.Compounds 8 and 11 showed good antioxidant capacity compared to ascorbic acid, BHA, and BHT used as standards, whereas compounds 1 and 2 exhibited good anticholinesterase activities compared to galantamine used as standard.

Highlights A phytochemical study of Euphorbia gaditana was carried out. Two previous unreported compounds type acetophenone and α-pyrone, along with 29 known compounds were identified. An antioxidant activity-guided isolation was performed using DPPH and CUPRAC assays. All extracts and isolated compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant activity. The tyrosinase inhibitory activity was estimated for the two previous unreported molecules.