Anisakiasis is an especially important health problem in countries
with highfish consumption, and reported cases have increased
exponentially since 1980. Sakanari and McKerrow (1989) gathered
the main causes in their review, pointing to the growth in popularity
of raw fish dishes such as sushi. More than a thousand cases
are reported annually in Japan, representing 95% of cases worldwide
Abe et al. (2005). Clinical symptoms and signs develop as a
result of the inflammatory reaction caused by penetration of larvae
into the digestive tract wall mucosa. Anisakis larva also has high
allergenic potency and can induce manifestations of hypersensitivity
ranging from urticaria or angioedema to anaphylactic shock as
well as mixed gastrointestinal and allergic symptoms. Over the past
20 years, the application of molecular techniques has considerably
improved our knowledge ofthe taxonomic position ofthe species of
the Anisakis genre Mattiucci et al. (2009) and of diagnostic aspects.
However, these advances have not been paralleled by the development
of more effective treatments of anisakiasis, prompting the
search for new molecules with possible anti-anisakis activity