Nortriterpenoids from the roots of Paeonia emodi

► The chemistry of Paeonia emodi was investigated, with 8 compounds including 4 new ones, were isolated and identified. ► New compounds are noroleanane triterpenoids (1-4). ► Compounds 1-8 were evaluated for cytotoxic activities against human cancer cell lines A549, HL-60, HCT116 and ZR-75-30.