The aim of this study was to evaluate whether water soluble compounds present in aqueous extracts from seven Mediterranean demosponges exert biological activity towards matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which represent important pathogenic factors of human dis- eases. Aqueous extracts were tested on LPS-activated cultured rat astrocytes, and levels and expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were assessed by zymography and RT-PCR, re- spectively. Our results demonstrated that the studied extracts contain water soluble com- pounds able to inhibit MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity and expression. We also compared the anti-MMP activities present in aqueous extracts from wild and reared specimens of Tethya aurantium and T. citrina. The results obtained revealed that the reared sponges maintain the production of bioactive compounds with inhibitory effect on MMP-2 and MMP-9 for all the duration of the rearing period. Taken together, our results indicate that the aqueous ex- tracts from the selected Mediterranean demosponges possess a variety of water-soluble bioactive compounds, which are able to inhibit MMPs at different levels. The presence of bi- ological activity in aqueous extracts from reared specimens of T. aurantium and T. citrina strongly encourage sponge aquaculture as a valid option to supply sponge biomass for drug development on a large scale.