Lymphatic filariasis poses public health problem in India for decades. Our country implements mass drug programme and soap and water was as morbidity management tool annually to control the disease through interruption of transmission that can lead to elimination by 2015. National policy is to achieve the same through massive mobilization of health workers throughout India.

Under the ICMR programme on preparation of medicinal plant monographs on diseases of public health importance, a project was sanctioned in the area of lymphatic filariasis with the objective of listing medicinal plants and products reported to have been used in traditional Indian systems of medicine in folklore and investigated for antifilarial activity using modern scientific methodology.