Fish farming crops are constantly exposed to infectious diseases due to intensive production conditions under which microorganisms develop and spread easily, resulting in severe economic losses. The massive use of antibiotics to control these diseases has lead to the accumulation of residues and the development of drug resistance. Consequently, it is urgent to develop new pharmacological tools to stimulate protective immune responses in salmonids to combat infectious diseases. We evaluated the immunostimulant activity of terpenoid derivatives isolated from species of the Heliotropium genus, which had previously shown antiviral activity in salmon. The immunomodulatory effects of the 3 H-spiro [1-benzofuran-2,1'-ciclohexane] derivative called filifolinone, were studied in vitro using the SHK-1 cell line derived from leucocytes of salmon head kidney and in vivo in Atlantic salmon. For the evaluation, we studied the effect of this compound in the expression of various cytokines. The results showed that Filifolinone increases the levels of expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. This suggests that Filifolinone is a potential alternative immunomodulator for veterinary purposes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.