Aims and Scope

The Journal of Ethnomedicine and Drug Development is an international journal devoted exclusively to the emerging research in Ethnomedicine and drug development. The journal will serve as a platform to reflect the transdisciplinary nature of the field of Ethnomedicine by including articles from a wide variety of disciplines involving natural product research with emphasis on indigenous uses. The journal welcomes original contributions dealing with biodiversity, conservation, environmental and public policy issues, pharmaceutical, ethnoveterinary and medical sciences, natural sciences, applied sciences, and other disciplines related to the development of indigenous knowledge in drug development. The journal also welcomes all aspects of clinical ethnomedicinal research.

Types of articles for publication

Review Papers. Review articles should usually be written at the invitation of the Editor-in-chief. However unsolicited reviews will be welcome but authors wishing to submit a review are requested to consult the Editor-in-Chief enclosing the outline of the proposed article at the earliest stage prior to the commencement of the writing.

Full Length Papers. Full Length papers are original, comprehensive, critical accounts of work within the scope of the journal. It should not normally exceed 10 printed pages (18 typescript pages) in length excluding figures and tables.

Short Communications. These should report data from original work, which are not yet sufficiently advanced to warrant full paper, but which are of sufficient importance to justify rapid publication. Generally, studies that are narrower in scope than published as full-length papers are reported as notes. Communications should not exceed 4 printed (9-typescript) pages.

Reports on Scientific Meetings. The journal publishes short reports on scientific meetings if these are of general interest (maximum 5 printed pages). Reports of these kind will only be accepted if they are prepared and submitted early enough so that the time between the meeting and actual publication does not exceed 4 months (this implies submission of the report no later than one month following the meeting). The scientific contents of such reports, like that of other texts that are submitted to the Journal, will be rapidly evaluated by the referees.

Announcement/Advertisement. These should be information of interest to the scientific community like Fellowships, Grants, Scholarships, Conferences, New discoveries, Inventions, Scientific equipment, etc.

Submission of Papers

Manuscripts in a 3.5" diskette and three (3) copies of the typewritten manuscript with complete set of illustrations should preferably be submitted. Authors are requested to specify the word processing package used. Alternatively documents can be typed on 8.5 x 11" paper with double spacing throughout, allowing for ample margins. Authors should submit one (1) original and three (3) copies of the typewritten manuscript with complete set of illustrations. Consecutive numbering of all pages is requested, with the title page as page one. All typing and format instructions must be strictly adhered to, as non-compliance will result to a delay in publication or return of the manuscript to the author.

Manuscripts from USA, Europe, and the rest of the world should be submitted to the Editor-in-chief:

Professor Maurice M. Iwu                 

Editor-in-Chief Journal of Ethnomedicine and Drug Development
Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme
11303 Amherst Avenue, Suite 2 Silver Spring, MD 20902, USA
Phone: 1-301-962-6201/ Fax: 1-301-962-6205

E-mail: bdcp@bioresources.org

Except manuscripts from Africa, which should be submitted:
To the Regional Editor - Africa

Professor Joseph I. Okogun

Regional Editor - Africa
Journal of Ethnomedicine and Drug Development
National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development
Idu Industrial Area,P.M.B. 21, Abuja, Nigeria
Phone: 234-9-523-1602/Fax: 234-9-523-1043

E-mail: jokogun@niprd.anpa.net.ng

Manuscripts from Asia, which should be submitted to the Regional Editor - Asia

Regional Editor - Asia

Journal of Ethnomedicine and Drug Development

And except manuscripts from Latin America, which should be submitted to the Regional Editor – Latin America

Professor Elaine Elisabetsky

Regional Editor - Latin America
Journal of Ethnomedicine and Drug Development
Department de Farmacologia – ICBS
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Av.
Sarmento Leite 500 sala 20290050-170 Porto Alegre RS, Brasil
Phone : 55-51-316-3183 /Fax: 55-51-316-3121

E-mail: elisasky@vortex.ufrgs.br

Postal Address
Caixa Postal 507290041-970 Porto Alegre RS, Brasil

All manuscripts are subject to editorial review. Manuscripts are received with the explicit understanding that they have not been previously published and that they are not intended to be published elsewhere. Submission of manuscript for publication implies the transfer of copyright from the author to the publisher on acceptance.

Manuscripts submitted for publication must contain a statement to the effect that all human studies have been reviewed by the appropriate ethics committee and have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in an appropriate version of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. It should also be stated clearly in the text that all persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. Details that might disclose the identity of the subjects under the study should be omitted. Reports of animal experiments must state that the "Principles of laboratory animal care" (NIH publication No. 85-23, revised 1985) were followed, as well as specific national laws. Manuscript describing an investigation derived from large-scale collection of plants, marine or other terrestrial organisms should thus include a statement in their manuscript in the Materials and Methods section of their manuscript explaining why the collection had no significant adverse ecological effect or justifying such effect in terms of the benefit from the resulting work. The editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the above-mentioned requirements. The authors will be held responsible for false statements or for failure to fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.

All papers are submitted in quadruplicates (4 copies). Receipt of papers will be acknowledged and authors will be informed of the status of their papers in due course.

Style of Manuscripts

The format of the typescript should be as follows:

Title and Authors. The title and authors should be on a separate page. The title should describe the contents fully but concisely, followed by the name(s) of the author(s). Authors’ academic degrees should not be included. The full names of institutions and subsidiary laboratories should be given, along with a useful address (including postal addresses). If several authors and institutions are listed on a paper, it should be clearly indicated with which institution each author is affiliated in Arabic Numerals which should be used as superscripts. The author to whom proofs and correspondences are to be sent should be indicated.

Abstract. The abstract, detailing, in one paragraph, the problem, experimental approach, major findings, and conclusions, should appear on the second page. It should be double-spaced and not should exceed 250 words for full papers or 50 words for Short Communications and Reports on Scientific Meeting. The abstract should be on a separate page.

Keywords. The abstract is to be followed by 4-8 keywords, preferably taken from Index Medicus or Excerpta Medica Index, for abstracting and indexing purposes.

Introduction. This should state the reasons for undertaking the investigation and a summary of the experimental plan. Exhaustive literature should be avoided and current literature should be included relating the manuscript to similar research.

Materials and Methods. The presentation of specific details about instruments used, sources of specialized chemicals, and related experimental detail should be incorporated into the text. These should be described in sufficient detail to enable readers to reproduce the work, if necessary. Statistical tests used should be indicated. Authors should follow the Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Diseases for terms relating to diseases, operations and procedures; and Chemical Abstracts for chemical terms. In the case of drugs, generic names should be used; while for new drugs the chemical description (formula) should be illustrated. Experimental biological materials should be reported as authenticated if cultivated or from a natural habitat, and the herbarium deposit site should be recorded. All microorganisms used experimentally should bear a strain designation number and the culture collection in which they are deposited. The scientific name (genus, species, authority citation, and family) should be presented when first mentioned in the body of the manuscript. Metric equivalents are preferred. It is expected that the authors will submit only data that have arisen from research carried out in an ethically appropriate way. The editors will not accept manuscripts, which violate this principle.

Results. The original and important findings should be presented with clarity and precision, without duplication in text, tables and figures.

Discussion. The discussion should interpret the results and not repeat them. It should relate the results to existing knowledge in the field and be as concise as possible.

Acknowledgments. The acknowledgment section should include credits for assistance, financial support and other appropriate recognition.

References. The references should only include works that are cited in the text and have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications should be mentioned in the text only. References in the text should be serially numbered in parentheses – such as (2) or (3,4) – in the order of their citation in the text. The list of the references should be printed at the end of the paper in numerical order as follows:

Journals. Azuine, M.A. and Bhide, S.V. (1992) Chemopreventive Effect of Turmeric Against Stomach and Skin tumors Induced by Chemical Carcinogens in Swiss Mice. Nutrition and Cancer 17: 77-83

Books. Iwu, M.M. (1993) Handbook of African Medicinal Plants. CRC Press, Florida, USA.

Chapters in Books. Okunji C.O., Jackson, J.E., Tally, J.D., Iwu, M,M, and Schuster, B.G. (1997) Bioassay approach to medicinal plant research. In: Iwu, M.M., Sokomba, E.N., Okunji, C.O., Obijiofor, C. and Akubue, I.P. (eds.) Commercial Production of Indigenous Plants as Phytomedicines and Cosmetics. pp. 121-133, BDCP Press, Lagos, Nigeria.

Tables and Figures. Tables and Figures must be referred to in the text by Arabic numerals. The position of each table or figure should be indicated in the manuscript. The word Table or Figure, followed by Arabic number, and a short descriptive title should be provided. Indicate footnotes within tables by superscript small letters, and type footnotes below the table. Submit illustrations (apparatus, spectra, chromatograms, X-ray crystal structures, etc.) as high quality photographic prints or as camera-ready, original drawings. Drawings should be professionally drawn in black Indian ink on white card, drawing or tracing paper, or computer generated and printed with a high quality printer. Photographs should be supplied as clear black-and-white prints on glossy paper. Color photographs are accepted at authors’ expense. A preliminary estimate of cost may be obtained from the Editor-in-chief. Illustrations should be numbered on the back with a pencil, indicating author’s names and indicate the top.

IR, NMR, Mass, and UV spectra should be given as figures only if new relationships between molecular structures and spectroscopic properties are demonstrated or if new compounds are described where the listing of characteristic signals is not sufficient. Figures of chromatograms will only be accepted if they are essential for understanding the methods or the results described. Publications that contain the results of an x-ray crystallographic study must include a line drawing of the structure, a perspective drawing, and a discussion of bond lengths and angles.

Proofs and Reprints

The publisher will undertake proof reading, unless specifically requested when the final version of the reviewed article is submitted by the author(s). Ten reprints of each article will be supplied free of charge. This will be shipped after the publication of the journal issue. An order form for further reprints will be sent with the acceptance letter and should be signed and returned immediately even if additional reprints are not required.