Thirty one ent-kaurane derivatives were prepared from kaurenoic acid (1), grandiflorenic acid (16), 15alpha-acetoxy-kaurenoic acid (26) and 16alpha-hydroxy-kaurenoic acid (31). They were tested for their ability to inhibit cell viability in the mouse leukemic macrophagic RAW 264.7 cell line. The most effective compounds were 12, 20, 21, and 23. These were selected for further evaluation in other human cancer cell lines such as Hela, HepG2, and HT-29. Similar effects were obtained although RAW 264.7 cells were more sensitive. In addition, these compounds were significantly less cytotoxic in non-transformed cells. The apoptotic potential of the most active compounds was investigated and they were able to induce apoptosis with compound 12 being the best inducer. The caspase-3, -8 and -9 activities were measured. The results obtained showed that compounds 12, 21, and 23 induce apoptosis via the activation of caspase-8, whereas compound 20 induces apoptosis via caspase-9. Immunoblot analysis of the expression of p53, Bax, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, and IAPs in RAW 264.7 cells was also carried out. When cells were exposed to 5 microM of the different compounds, expression levels of p53 and Bax increased whereas levels of antiapoptotic proteins such as Bc1-2, Bc1-x1, and IAPs decreased. In conclusion, kaurane derivatives (12, 20, 21, and 23) induce apoptosis via both the mitochondrial and membrane death receptor pathways, involving the Bcl-2 family proteins. Taken together these results provide a role of kaurane derivatives as apoptotic inducers in tumor cells.