The effects of 80% methanol extracts from frozen samples of 41 macroalgae and one sea grass collected in the Ise-Shima region of Japan were investigated on histamine release from rat basophile leukemia cells (RBL-2H3) sensitized with antidinitrophenyl (DNP) IgE and stimulated with DNP-BSA. Of the 21 brown algae, five green and 15 red algae, and one sea grass tested, only extracts from seven brown algae suppressed histamine release from RBL cells, as determined by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. When the cytotoxic effects of the seven brown algal extracts were investigated by Trypan blue staining, only Eisenia arborea and Sargassum thunbergil did not show cytotoxic effects. Therefore, we conclude that E. arborea and S. thunbergii may contain compounds that have antiallergic effects without inducing cell death.