Toxicity of jellyfish and sea-anemone venoms on cultured V79 cells.

Cnidarian toxins exert an influence on human activities and public health. The cytotoxicity of crude toxins (nematocyst and surrounding tissue venom) of Aequorea aequorea, Rhizostoma pulmo and Anemonia sulcata was assessed on V79 cells. Rhizostoma pulmo and Anemonia sulcata crude venoms showed remarkable cytotoxicity and killed all treated cells at highest tested concentration within 2 and 3 hr, respectively. Aequorea aequorea crude venom greatly affected growth rate during long-term experiments. No genotoxic effect was observed.