Author Guidelines

Scope of Journal

The Science Today Journal (STJ) is an international peer-reviewed online and print Open Access Journal in English, aimed at making important contributions in the field of natural product research, pharmaceutical, and natural sciences.

Science Today Journal (STJ) is a peer-reviewed, open access online international journal which publishes original research papers. The journal welcomes submission from scholars and experts for possible publication from all over the world. The scope of the journal includes: pharmaceutical research, chemistry and biochemistry of naturally occurring compounds, biological evaluation of crude extracts, ethnomedicine, traditional and complementary medicine, ethnopharmacology, biomedical research, biotechnology, evaluation of natural substances of land and sea and of plants, microbes, and animals, pharmacognosy, bioavailability, clinical, pharmacological, toxicological studies, and pharmacokinetics of phytochemicals Isolation and characterization of compounds, structure elucidation, synthesis and experimental biosynthesis of natural Product as well as developments of methods in these areas are welcomed in the journal. Finally, research papers in fields on the chemistry-biology boundary, papers discussing the screening of natural Product for biological activity against different health targets are also encouraged.

Timely, concise, and focused reviews on recent progress in active areas of natural products will also be published.

This international journal is published monthly and is available in both printed and electronic formats.

Manuscript Categories

STJ publishes Full Papers, Communications, Reviews, Notes, and Book Reviews.

Manuscript Charges

For Non-Nigerian Authors: The Article Processing Charge for the journal is $15.

For Nigerian Authors: The Article Processing Charge for the journal is ₦20,000.

Please note that the Article Processing Charge is non-refundable.

Review Articles

Reviews provide a comprehensive summary of broadly-based topics of general interest to natural product research scientists. They are not limited as to the number of words, tables, figures, and references that may be included. Unsolicited reviews are considered only if they are authored by investigators who have demonstrated expertise in the relevant areas. An author interested in preparing a Review for STJ should provide the title, abstract, and a brief outline to the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Abiodun Falodun, requesting an invitation to submit a manuscript in this category.

Editorial Note

Manuscripts in this category discuss important parts, overlooked aspects, or lacking parts of a previously published article. Articles on subjects within the scope of the journal that might attract the readers’ attention may also be submitted in the form of an “Editorial Note.” Readers can also present their comments on published manuscripts in this form. Abstracts, Keywords, Tables, Figures, Images, and other media should not be included. The text should be unstructured. The article that is being commented on must be properly cited within this manuscript.

Research Papers

Research Articles are comprehensive accounts of significant and original experimental and/or theoretical results that fit within the scope of STJ. They contain innovative, original, hypothesis-driven research that is supported by sound experimental design, methodology, and data interpretation. STJ publishes research articles in the multidisciplinary field of pharmaceutical sciences. Authors are asked to write their manuscripts in a clear, concise and excellent manner.

Articles should be original research work written in English in a concise and understandable manner. It is advised that authors who may want professional assistance with improving the English, or formatting in their manuscript should do so before submitting their manuscript. Manuscript should be in MS word, double-spaced on A4 (8.5” x 11”) paper size with 1 inch margins. Article should be in the order:

  • Title Page
  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • Introduction
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results and Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Conflict of Interest
  • Acknowledgement
  • References
  • Tables, Figures etc

The title should be concise and reflect the key elements of the research. The title should be followed by authors’ full name and affiliations. The corresponding author should be indicated with an asterisk and provide the full corresponding address (e-mail address and telephone number).

Ingredients of title

  • Titles are of great importance for current awareness and for information retrieval.
  • Avoid abbreviations and formulae, where possible.
  • The wording of titles should be chosen carefully to provide information on the contents and to function as “points of entry” for information retrieval. Symbols, formulas, or arbitrary abbreviations should not be included in the title, except chemical symbols to indicate the structure of isotopically labelled compounds. Full title must be in sentence case.
  • The title of the manuscript must be written in lower case except for the first word and proper nouns.

Author names and affiliations

  • Author names must be given in full, with surnames (family names) all in capitals.
  • Present the authors‘ affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names.
  • Indicate all affiliations with a lowercase superscript number immediately after the author’s name and in front of the appropriate address.
  • Author addresses must be given in English in the following order: Department, Faculty, University, City, Country, with numbers in superscript after each author name to indicate his/her address.
  • Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name for each author.

Corresponding Author

You should designate one author to act as corresponding author. Note that this is the person who will receive correspondence from STJ editorial office and needs to be the person who will appear as corresponding author on the paper if accepted.

The manuscript has to be submitted online by the person who is in charge of correspondence at all stages of the editorial process, production, and post-publication. Ensure that phone/fax numbers with country and area codes) are provided, in addition to the e-mail address (preferably an institutional e-mail address) and the complete postal address. Contact details of the other authors must be kept up to date by the corresponding author.

Abstract

Abstract should start on a new page after the title page. A concise and factual abstract, which is unstructured, is required. Abstract should briefly state the purpose of the research, methodology, principal results, main findings, major conclusions and should not be more than 250 words. Abstracts should not be referenced and the use of abbreviations should be minimized and spelled out when first used.

Keywords

Abstract should be followed by 4-10 keywords, provided by the authors and separated by a ‘coma’. The keywords should be listed in full without abbreviations.

Introduction

A referenced introduction should set the work in context. The introduction should be kept to a minimum length and relevant to the research described. It should state the rationale, justifications and objectives of the research. Detailed descriptions of routine experimental procedures should be avoided. The introduction must be designed to inform the reader of the rationale and significance of the study.

Materials and Methods

Authors should provide sufficient experimental details to allow others to reproduce the findings presented, but where necessary, synthetic and bioassay protocols should refer to published procedures by literature citation of the original method and any later modifications used. Spectroscopic data for characterization of new compounds should be described in sufficient detail. Plants must be properly identified and authenticated by a taxonomist or experienced botanist and specimen must be deposited in recognized herbarium and voucher number must be stated. Where possible, supporting Information can be useful for presenting experimental details while limiting the size of the main document.

Ethical consideration on use of experimental animals and human subjects

Experiments involving the use of live animals must include a statement of approval by an ethical committee and certifying that such experiments were performed in accordance with all international guidelines and regulations. For experiments involving humans or tissue samples, a statement that informed consent was obtained from the subject or from the next of kin must be included.

Results and Discussion

The Results and Discussion may be combined into a single section or presented separately. They may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings. Authors should present their data in a clear and interpretative manner. Presentation of data should not be duplicated. Discussion should interpret the results and relate them to existing knowledge in the field (with relevant literature). Supporting information can be used if this help to make the result clearer. All results presented in tabular form or graphical form should be comprehensively described in this section.

Conclusion

Authors should state their conclusions or the significance of their findings following the discussion of results. Conclusions should also be summarized in the abstract in order to place the author’s research in proper perspective. The main conclusions of the study should be presented in a short Conclusions section, which stands alone. You should explain whether your findings supported your hypothesis. Avoid using references in conclusion section.

List of abbreviations

If abbreviations are used in the text, they should be defined in the text where first used.

Tables and Figures/Graphics

Tables and figures showing the results of the experiment should be placed at the end of the manuscript after the list of references. Tables and figures not displaying the results of the experiment should be placed within the body of the manuscript closed to the point where they are mentioned. All tables and figures should be referred to in the text of the manuscript.

Tables

Tables should have the following characteristics:

  • The table should be created using table format feature. Ensure each data entry is in its own table cell.
  • Tables should be without borders and shadings except for column headings and bottom border.
  • Tables should be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals.
  • Tables should have a descriptive heading that, together with the individual column headings, makes the table self-explanatory.
  • Footnotes should be given letter designations and cited in the table by superscript letters.

Figures/Graphics

Figures/graphics should give the reader a quick visual representation of the important results and/or the essence of the paper without providing specific details. All figures/graphics should be submitted using the following guidelines:

Conflict-of-Interest Disclosure

A statement describing any financial conflicts of interest or lack thereof is published with each manuscript. During the submission process, the corresponding author must provide this statement on behalf of all authors of the manuscript.

Acknowledgements

Funding body and all those who assisted in the work but may not qualify as an author should be acknowledged.

References

References should follow the Vancouver citing and referencing style;

The in-text citation is indicated by a number (use Arabic numerals).

The number should be placed immediately after the text which refers to the source being cited.

Reference numbers should be in superscript and placed outside or after full stops and commas

The reference list should be typed single-spaced and listed in numerical order, and in the same order in which they were cited in text.

Reference to a Journal Article:

Engel N, Oppermann C, Falodun A, Kragl U. Proliferative effects of five traditional Nigerian medicinal plant extracts on human breast and bone cancer cell lines. J Ethnopharmacol. 2011; 137(2): 1003-1010.

Erharuyi O, Adhikari A, Falodun A, Jabeen A, Imad R, Ammad M, Choudhary MI, Goren N. Cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and leishmanicidal activities of Diterpenes isolated from the roots of Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Planta Med. 2017; 83(01/02): 104-110.

McPherson DD, Che C, Cordell GA, Soejarto DD, Pezzuto JM, Fong HHS. Diterpenoids from Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Phytochem 1985; 25(01): 167-170.

Reference to a web source

Smith J. One of Volvo’s core values. [Online]. 1999 [cited 2001 Dec 10]. Available from: http://www.volvo.com/environment/index.htm.

Reference to a book

Strunk W Jr., White EB. The elements of style. (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan; 1979. 124 p.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book

Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ (Eds.). Introduction to the electronic age. New York: E-Publishing Inc; 1994. 281-304 p.