Selected biological activities of saraines.

1. The Mediterranean sponge Reniera sarai, Pulitzeri-Finali, 1969 (Demospongiae: Haploscleridae: Renieridae) possesses in large amounts a series of unprecedented polycyclic alkaloids, saraines 1-3 and saraines A-C. 2. The structural peculiarities of saraines, their chemical-physical characteristics, along with their relevant abundance in the sponge, prompted a study aimed at investigating their biological properties. 3. Saraines were assayed for their cytotoxic, antibacterial, insecticidal and potential antitumoral activities. These results, along with the growth inhibition of fertilized sea urchin eggs, are reported.