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Abstract
In this work, we studied the effects of kaurenoic acid, a diterpene isolated from
the oleo-resin of Copaifera langsdorffii in developing sea urchin (Lytechinus variegatus)
embryos, on tumor cell growth in microculture tetrazolium (MTT) test and on mouse
and human erythrocytes in hemolysis assay. Continuous exposure of embryos to kaurenoic
acid starting immediately after fertilization inhibited the first cleavage (IC(50):
84.2 microM) and progressively induced embryo destruction (IC(50): 44.7 microM and
< 10 microM for blastulae and larvae stages, respectively). In MTT assay, kaurenoic
acid at a concentration of 78 microM produced growth inhibition of CEM leukemic cells
by 95%, MCF-7 breast and HCT-8 colon cancer cells by 45% each. Further, kaurenoic
acid induced a dose-dependent hemolysis of mouse and human erythrocytes with an EC(50)
of 74.0 and 56.4 microM, respectively. The destruction of sea urchin embryos, the
inhibition of tumor cell growth and the hemolysis of mouse and human erythrocytes
indicate the potential cytotoxicity of kaurenoic acid.