Author Guidelines
Aim
Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal (EPJ) is a bian-nual Journal, which publishes original research works, that contribute significantly to further scientific knowledge in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The Journal publishes original research work either as a Full Re-search Paper or as a Short Communication.
Requirements for submission
1. Authors are requested to submit all manuscripts either to Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal, P. O. Box 5711, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or to Dr. Kaleab Asres, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
2. Type-written manuscripts prepared using MS Word should be submitted in triplicate. Alternatively, electronic submission of the manuscript as a MS word document to epj@.aau.edu.et is possible. The language of the journal is English, using spelling according to Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English.
3. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed. After the review, manuscripts will be returned for revision along with reviewers’ and/or editors’ comments. One original copy of the final revised manuscript should be submitted for publication within six weeks of receiving the reviewers’ comments. It is also desirable to submit the final revised on a CD prepared in MS Word Version 97-2002 or a higher version. Manuscripts are prepared in Times New Roman font using a font size of 12. There shall not be any decorative borders anywhere in the text including the title page.
4. Submission of a manuscript to EPJ for publication implies that the same work has not been either published or under consideration for publication in another Journal. Authors, in their cover note to the Editor, have to clearly mention whether the manu-script shall be considered as an Original Research Paper or Short Communication and also confirm that the manuscript has not been submitted to any other journal for publication. Authors publishing results from in vivo experiments involving animals or humans should state whether due permission to conduct these experiments was obtained, from the relevant ethics committees, in the Materials and Methods section. In addition, authors wishing to publish research work involving human studies should also send a notary verified letter of approv-al from the Ethics Committee or the Institutional Review Board.
5. Twenty reprints of each article are delivered free of charge. Additional copies may be ordered on ac-count in the proof stage of the article.
Preparation of manuscripts
Authors are requested to observe the following guidelines and they are also advised to refer to the latest issue of the Journal to understand the format and style.
1. Below the title, surname(s) and first name(s) of the author(s) should be given without academic and professional degrees. The postal full address (es) of the author(s) should appear below authors’ names.
2. Manuscripts should be typewritten in double-space in A4 sized sheets, only on one side, with a 2 cm margin on both sides. Main titles should be ar-ranged in the following order: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Dis-cussion or Results and Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Illustrations (Tables, Figures and chemistry schemes along with titles and legends).
3. Title Page - Title page should contain title of the paper in bold face, title case (font size 16), names of the authors in bold face, (font size 12) followed by the address(es) in normal face (font size 10). The title should be as short as possible and precise-ly indicate the nature of the work in the communi-cation. The author to whom all correspondence be addressed should be denoted by an asterisk mark. At the bottom left corner of the title page, “*correspondence” should be mentioned along with a functional e-mail address.
4. Abstract - Should start on a new page after the title page and should be typed in single-space, bold face, (font size 10). Abstracts should briefly reflect all aspects of the study and should be followed by 5 keywords.
5. Introduction - Should indicate the subject under investigation which is generally based on a brief interpretation of the literature considering the cur-rent state of knowledge in the field and explaining the necessary theoretical foundations.
6. Materials and Methods - Shall start as a continua-tion to introduction on the same page. All im-portant materials used along with their source shall be mentioned. The main methods used shall be briefly described, citing references. New methods or substantially modified methods may be de-scribed in sufficient detail. The statistical method employed shall be clearly stated.
7. Results - The presentation of results should be precise, with necessary formulas, diagrams, tables and figures added separately to the manuscripts. The data should be statistically analyzed and the level of significance stated. Title or caption and legend of tables and figures should be self-explanatory. Results and discussion of results can also be combined under one section, Results and Discussion.
8. Discussion - Unless covered by 7. as Results and Discussion, the Discussion should follow the re-sults, deal with the interpretation of results, convey how they help increase current understanding of the problem and should be logical. It should state the possibilities the results uncover, that need to be further explored.
9. Conclusion - Should not repeat results already giv-en, but should state the conclusions drawn from the results.
10. Acknowledgements - Should be given after the text and not in the form of footnotes.
11. References in the text have to be cited by the first author’s surname and year. If there are three or more authors, the surname of the first author et al. should be used (Hailu, 1997; Hailu and Kebede, 1998; Hailu, et al., 2000). If the year is the same for several references identify these with a, b, c etc. (Smith 1998a; Smith 1998b etc.) both in the text and in the reference list. At the end of the pa-per, references are listed in alphabetical order under the first authors surname. If there are several references to items with the same first author, arrange these chronologically regardless of the alphabetical order of the co-authors.
Journal names should be abbreviated according to “Index Medicus (Medline)” or “Chemical Ab-stracts Service source Index”.
Quotations have to follow the following style:
Journal articles:
Iverson F (1995). Phenolic antioxidants: health protection branch studies on butylated hydroxyani-sole. Cancer Lett 93: 49-54.
Pillai AD, Rani S, Rathod PD, Xavier FP, Vasu KK, Padh H, Sudarsanam V (2005). QSAR studies on some thiophene analogs as anti-inflammatory agents: enhancement of activity by electronic parameters and its utilization for chemical lead optimization. Bio Org Med Chem 13: 1275-1283.
Books
Singleton P, Sainsbury D (2001). Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2nd edn, John Wiely & Sons, USA, p 453.
Book chapters
Bevan JA (1983). Drugs for Rheumatic Diseases. In: Bevan JA and Thompson JH eds, Essentials of Pharmacology, 3rd edn, Harper and Row, Phila-delphia, pp 304-317.
12. For the identification of pharmaceutical substanc-es, the International Nonproprietary Names (INN) proposed or recommended by the WHO should be used. Registered trade Marks are indicated with ®; (in an article this sign should only be used when it is first mentioned or used in the abstract).
13. Nomenclature and spelling should conform to the directions given by IUPAC and IUB. Units or measurement are determined by the directions of the International Units System SI as symbols. Botanical names (genus species) should be marked in italics.
14. The following abbreviations should be used (except in the title and subtitles). Anh = anhy-drous; bp = boiling point; calcd = calculated; CC = column chromatography; conc = concentration; dec = decomposition; eq = equation; ESR = elec-tron spin resonance; g = gram; GC = gas chroma-tography; h = hour; HPLC = high performance liquid chromatography; im = intramuscular; ip = intraperitoneal; IR = infrared; iv = inravenous; l = litre; min = minute; ml = millilitre; mp = melting point; MS = mass spectrometry; NMR = nuclear magnetic resonance; PC = paper chromatography; % = per cent, percentage; po = peroral; s = second; min = minute(s); hour = h; sc = subcutaneous; TLC = thin layer chromatography; UV = ultravio-let.
15. Tables should be numbered consecutively in Ara-bic numerals and bear a brief title in normal face. Only MS word table format should be used for preparing tables. Additions to legends of table should be marked by *, **, *** or 1, 2, 3,4 etc.
16. Figures have to be of sufficient quality for repro-duction process. Even after size reduction the fig-ures’ key has to be easy to read. Graphs should preferably be prepared using Microsoft Excel and submitted as Excel graph pasted in Word. Photo-graphs should be on glossy paper. Alternatively, photographs and photomicrographs can be submit-ted as images or PDF files. Manuscripts containing figures of insufficient quality cannot be accepted. Special arrangements can be made for colour re-production of figures. Note that the additional costs must be paid by the author(s).
