Plant products in the treatment and control of filariasis and other helminth infections and assay systems for antifilarial/anthelmintic activity.

Lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, loaisis, and other helminth infections cause serious health problems especially in resource-limited tropical and subtropical developing countries of the world, and more than 2 billion people are infected with at least one helminth species. From times immemorial, man looked up to the plant kingdom in search of anthelmintics, antifilarials, and remedies for parasite-induced health problems. Although more than 50 % of drugs in modern medicine are derived from plants or leads from plants, a success story of plant-based anthelminthics or antifilarials is yet to be told.