In-vitro, in-silico studies on the proposed penasulfate A and its derivatives as dual inhibitors of α-glucosidases and human cancer cells

•The proposed penasulfate A and its derivatives are dual inhibitors.•Enzyme kinetic experiments showed penasulfate A acted as a mixed type inhibitor against α-glucosidase.•The proposed penasulfate A and its derivatives inhibit eight human cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 0.04 to 6.77 µM.•In-silico studies results matched the data of the authentic biological activities of the compounds well.•The anti-proliferative effect of the compounds against cancer cells was induced by apoptosis.