Over-the-counter medicine (Seirogan) containing wood creosote kills Anisakis larvae

Kou Matsuoka and Tatsuomi Matsuoka*

Background: Anisakis food poisoning is characterized by the onset of severe intestinal and stomach pain caused by eating raw or undercooked seafood that harbors the larvae of an anisakid nematode such as Anisakis simplex. Although there is currently no effective drug to kill anisakid nematodes, it has been reported that acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as the over-the-counter medicine ‘Seirogan’ strongly suppress the nematode’s motility. 

Methods: One pill of Seirogan was dissolved in 0.01 M HCl (5 mL or 10 mL), and nematodes were exposed to these test solutions for 30 min. To determine whether the nematodes treated with the Seirogan solutions remained alive or not, the nematodes were exposed to trypan blue solution (widely used for the selective staining of dead tissues).

Results: Most (91.7%) of nematodes whose motility had been prevented by Seirogan treatment (1 pill/10 mL) were stained by trypan blue at 24 h after a 30-min treatment with Seirogan. The majority (83.3%) of Seirogan (1 pill/10 mL)-treated nematodes began to be digested by pepsin treatment within 24 h, whereas all living nematodes not treated with Seirogan remained actively moving despite pepsin treatment. When the posterior 4/5 of a nematode was dipped in Seirogan test solution (1 pill/10 mL), only the dipped portion stopped moving.

Conclusion: A widely available OTC intestinal medicine ‘Seirogan’ kills Anisakis larvae at its normal dose, and the killed nematodes are probably degested in the gastric juice. Seirogan components that are effective for killing nematodes may be absorbed from the nematodes’ body surface.

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Published on: Jul 1, 2021 Pages: 9-12

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/ojpp.000017
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