## 1 Introduction  
The development of new drugs to fight parasitic infections such as anisakiasis is highly needed. Anisakiasis, the parasitic infection of the gastrointestinal tract caused by the members of the genus _Anisakis_, such as _A. simplex_ Dujardin larvae, is a public health concern worldwide, particularly in Asian countries such as Japan, and in Mediterranean areas, such as Spain and Italy [1; 2]. The high prevalence of this zoonoses, also named as anisakidosis, is caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked fish or seafood, which leads to the ingestion of larvae of the Anisakidae family belonging to the genera _Anisakis_, _Pseudoterranova_, or _Contracaecum_[3]. In many cases, these infections are resolved without pharmacological treatments because larvae die in human hosts; a major risk is represented by allergic reactions and anaphylaxis caused by larvae antigens. Allergic reactions can be diagnosed through clinical features and elevation of Immunoglobulin E, whereas many infections are misdiagnosed, in particular due to the lack of specificity of the clinical symptoms (i.e., abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea) [4]. Furthermore, the timely and effective control of insect vectors represents a crucial challenge in medical and veterinary entomology [5; 6; 7]. Mosquitoes within the genera _Anopheles_, _Aedes_, and _Culex_ include some of the most dangerous and worldwide spread insect species, acting as competent vectors of malaria, dengue, yellow fever, West Nile, chikungunya, and Zika virus [8; 9]. Among _Culex_ species of medical relevance, _Culex quinquefasciatus_ Say attracts the attention of scientists worldwide being the main vector of filariasis, currently recognized as one of the most important neglected tropical diseases [10; 11], while its competence as a Zika virus vector is still debated [12; 13; 14]. The management of this mosquito species is based on the employment of synthetic insecticides though this is challenged by the quick development of resistance in targeted populations [15]. Therefore, in agreement with the Integrated Vector Management (IVM) [16] and One Health criteria [17; 18], the development of novel and environmentally sustainable ovicides, larvicides, and pupicides to be used in aquatic environments, as well as adulticides and repellents, is a major target for current entomological research [19; 20; 21; 22]. Plant secondary metabolites represent an ancient and huge source of bioactive molecules of potential interest for developing new insecticides [23; 24; 25] and antiparasitic drugs [26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31]. The genus _Origanum_ L. (Lamiaceae) comprises 43 species (51 taxa) worldwide [32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38], with its center of diversity in the Mediterranean area [32]. According to the classification proposed by [PERSON] [32], based on morphological characters, _Origanum_ is classified into ten sections. _Origanum syriacum_ L., also known as Biblical-hyssop, Lebanese oregano, or Syrian oregano, is distributed in the eastern Mediterranean area, especially in Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Egypt. It is found on rocky soils from the sea level up to about 2000 m of altitude [32]. _O. syriacum_ belongs to the section _Majorana_, and its high morphological variation led to the recognition of three varieties [32]: _O. syriacum_ var. _sriacum_, var. _bevanii_ ([PERSON]) [PERSON], and var. _sinaicum_ ([PERSON].) [PERSON]. More recently, these three taxa were reconsidered as subspecies [39]: _O. syriacum_ subsp. _sriacum_, subsp. _sriacum_, subsp. _sriacum_ ([PERSON].) [PERSON] and Burdet, and subsp. _bevanii_ ([PERSON]) [PERSON] and Burdet. _O. syriacum_ is one of the most important herbal remedies used in the folk medicine of the Middle East, especially in Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt.