Author Guidelines

SCOPE

The East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences is dedicated to all aspects of Pharmaceutical Sciences research and is published in English. The scientific papers published in the Journal fall into three main categories: review papers*, original research papers and short communications. *Review papers in any discipline of pharmaceutical sciences are written at the invitation of the editor. They may cover highly specialized fields or general subjects of importance. Original research papers and short communications should describe original and unpublished work. The main purpose of short communications is rapid communication of brief (and often preliminary) research results on current topical issues. They should be limited to one or two double-spaced written pages. Original research papers are subjected to external review, whereas short communications may sometimes only be reviewed by the receiving editor.
The journal also covers announcements and reports on symposia, meetings, courses and other events of interest as well as book reviews and new literature
surveys in pharmaceutical and allied sciences. 

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

Manuscripts should be submitted in one original with original figures to ecajps@uonbi.ac.ke.

The corresponding author should submit a declaration that the paper has neither been published nor submitted for publication elsewhere.
Peer Review: All manuscripts will be assessed by two or more independent reviewers and authors will be informed of the reviewers’ comments.

Galley Proofs: The corresponding author will receive galley proofs as soon as they are available. These should be corrected and returned to the editorial office by the date specified in the accompanying email. If proofs are not received by the specified date, the editors reserve the right to publish the paper without the author’s corrections.

Format and Style: Typing should be double-spaced with 3 cm margins on all sides. For the sake of uniformity, American spelling should be adopted throughout. In all sections of the manuscript the font used should be large and easy to read. The beginning of paragraph should be clearly shown. Pages should be numbered consecutively. Abbreviations should not be used in the title and in the abstract.

Original Research Papers: These papers are typically between 2 and 15 pages in length, including tables, figures, legends and references.

Title: This should be concise, carefully formulated and it should not extend beyond two lines.  Authors’ names and complete postal and e-mail addresses should follow. The corresponding author should be marked with an asterisk (*)

Abstract Page: The abstract should not exceed 150 words. It should avoid detail, but describe adequately the contents of the paper. It should be written such that it can be used verbatim in abstracting. No summary is required for short communications.

Keywords: List three to seven key words to assist in listing.

Introduction: This should briefly present the importance of the work in relation to the field and indicate reasons for investigation and contribution.

Experimental: Sufficient information should be provided to enable other investigators repeat the work. Details of procedures, which have been published elsewhere, should not be repeated, but references must be cited.

Results and Discussion: This should be clear in context of the findings and published literature.  The same data should not be presented in both figures and tables. The details of slope, intercept, standard error of slope, standard error of intercept, concentration range and number of standards are essential and they should be given in the text or be tabulated.

Conclusion: Should be given where appropriate.

Acknowledgements: Authors should indicate if work is supported by donor funds, departmental resources and/or self finances, providing all necessary details.

References: The journal will from Volume 25 (2022) use the American Chemical Society referencing style. References cited in the text should be indicated by sequential superscript numbers and listed in the same order of appearance at the end of the text. Journal title abbreviations should conform to the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CAS SI). Authors are encouraged to use referencing software when preparing their manuscripts. The following guidelines and examples may be helpful when not using referencing software. For further details consult ACS guide.

Article from a print journal

Author(s). Journal abbreviation Year, volume, page(s) e.g.

Abuga, K. O.; Kigera, S.T.; Wanyama, M.; Nandama, W. M.; Kibwage, I. O. Quality Control Results of Pharmaceuticals Analyzed in the Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS) Laboratory during the Period 2013-2017. East Cent. Afri. J. Pharm. Sci. 2021, 24 (2), 57–66.

 Article from a database (add url and date accessed)

Gashaw, A.; Teshita, A.; Getachew, T. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure and its health impacts: a review.  Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. [Online] 2018, 10, 1370-1381.  SciFinder Scholar. https://scifinder.cas.org/scifinder/view/link_v1/reference.html?l=BmxxGlm8wGowyyQH6ZcT0DxwCp8OEtvYZbKLqEZUnsOeDd4IMteM3w (accessed October 9, 2018).

 Print book

Author(s). Title of book. Name of publisher: City, Year.

 Online book

Author(s). Title [Online]; Publisher: Place of Publication, Year. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

 Book chapter in print book

Author(s). Title of article. In Title of book; Editor(s); Publisher: City, Year, Pages.

 Book chapter in online book

Author(s). Chapter Title. In Book Title [Online]; Editor(s), Eds.; Publisher: Place of Publication, Year, Pages. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

 Theses and dissertations

Author. Title of Thesis. Level of Thesis, Name of University, Location of University, Date of Completion.

 Patents

Patent Owner(s). Title. Patent Number, Date.

 Government publications

Author(s). Chapter Title. Document Title; Government Publication Number; Publishing Agency: Place of Publication, Year; Pages.

 Technical reports or bulletins

Author, A.; Author, B.; etc. Title of Report or Bulletin; Technical Report or Bulletin Number; Publisher: Place of Publication, Date; Pagination.

 Figures and Captions: Figures can be in the form of original black ink drawings on good quality paper or glossy black and white photographs (reproduction of colored photographs will be considered in exceptional cases). The amount of text within a figure should be kept to a minimum. Special consideration should be given to the size of the lettering: please bear in mind that drawings are normally reduced to one column width (86 mm) and that the original lettering should neither become illegible nor remain too dominant after reduction. Heavy lines should be avoided. All original figures should be numbered and clearly identified with the name of the author at right hand corner using pencil. Legends should not be within the figure. Figure captions should be typed double-spaced on a separate sheet. The location of the figures in the text should also be clearly indicated.

Tables: Tables and short bodies of tabulated information may appear within the text but larger tables should be typed on separate sheets and their position clearly indicated in the text. Each table should carry a concisely worded title. Column headings should be brief and the units should be indicated. Footnotes to tables should be keyed a), b), c) etc and the accompanying footnotes typed on the same page as the table where possible.

Equations, Units, Nomenclature: Equations should appear within the body of the text, visibly separated by adequate spacing. They should be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals in parentheses. Use of SI units is recommended. Generally accepted nomenclature and symbols are to be used. Less common symbols should be defined in the text, and if large numbers of symbols are involved they should be listed and defined on a separate sheet.

Abbreviations: Authors should use conventional abbreviations. When using customized abbreviations for the first time in the text, the abbreviation should appear in parenthesis next to the text being described. A list of commonly used abbreviations is available here.