Indian Medicine And Homoeopathy Journal

Indian Medicine And Homoeopathy Journal

Journal For Siddha, Ayurveda, Unani, Yoga & Naturopathy and Homoeopathy.

AUTHOR GUIDELINES
JOURNAL OF INDIAN MEDICINE & HOMOEOPATHY (JIM&H)

Journal of Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (JIM&H) is a scientific quarterly (four issues per year) journal which publishes original research articles, review articles, case reports and short communications in the field of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy), including Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, Phytochemistry, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Analysis, Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Organic, Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, and related Pharmacy. Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that the same work has not been published, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that its submission has been approved by all authors and the institution where the work was carried out.

JIMH Following Manuscript Types:

  • Original Research Articles
  • Review Articles
  • Case Reports
  • Short communications

EDITORIAL POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS

Authorship Criteria

All authors and co-authors must meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship:

Authors must include a CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) author statement

    1. Substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data
    2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
    3. Final approval of the version to be published
    4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work
Non-author contributors

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four ICMJE criteria (e.g. general supervision, technical assistance, statistical help, language editing) should not be listed as authors and must instead be named in the Acknowledgments section, along with a description of their contribution.

Author list changes

Any change to the author list (addition, removal or reordering) after submission must be explained in writing, signed by all authors including those being added or removed, and approved by the Editor before the change is made.

AI tools and authorship

AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies do not meet ICMJE authorship criteria, as they cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity or accountability of the work. See the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure section below for full disclosure requirements.

RESEARCH INTEGRITY AND ETHICS

Plagiarism Policy

JIM&H has zero tolerance for plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. All manuscripts undergo similarity screening (using iThenticate / Turnitin or an equivalent tool) before, during and after review.

    1. The similarity index (excluding references, methods boilerplate and standard phrases) should generally not exceed 15–20%.
    2. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold will be returned to authors for revision before proceeding to review.
    3. Detection of plagiarism after acceptance or publication will result in rejection or retraction, with notice to the authors' institution.
Data and Image Integrity

JIM&H has zero tolerance for plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. All manuscripts undergo similarity screening (using iThenticate / Turnitin or an equivalent tool) before, during and after review.

    1. Data fabrication, falsification and inappropriate image manipulation are strictly prohibited.
    2. Figures (including gels, blots and photomicrographs) may be screened for evidence of duplication, splicing or selective enhancement; authors should retain original, unprocessed image files and be prepared to submit them on request.
    3. Any adjustment to brightness/contrast must be applied to the entire image and disclosed in the legend.
Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Simultaneous submission to multiple journals is not permitted. Substantial overlap with a previously published article (including the authors' own prior work) must be disclosed at submission.

Preprint Policy

Authors may deposit their manuscript on a recognised preprint server (e.g. medRxiv, Preprints.org, Research Square) prior to or during peer review. The preprint DOI/URL must be disclosed in the cover letter and referenced in the submitted manuscript. Posting a preprint does not constitute prior publication.

Corrections and Retractions

Post-publication errors identified by authors, readers or editors will be handled according to COPE guidelines:

    1. Minor errors that do not affect interpretation are corrected via a published Erratum/Correction notice linked to the original article.
    2. Errors that invalidate the findings, or confirmed misconduct (plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication), result in Retraction, with a retraction notice published and linked to the original article.
    3. Authors are expected to promptly notify the Editorial Office on discovering an error in their published work.
Appeals and Complaints

Authors who disagree with an editorial decision may submit a written appeal to the Editor-in- Chief within four weeks of the decision, stating the grounds for appeal. Appeals are evaluated by an editor not involved in the original decision, or by an independent reviewer. Complaints regarding the review process or editorial conduct may be addressed to the Editorial Office and will be handled in line with COPE guidance.

Publication Ethics Framework

JIM&H's editorial policies follow the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and are reviewed periodically to reflect current norms.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors must declare any financial, personal or professional conflicts of interest that could inappropriately influence their work. If no conflicts exist, please state: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

Research Ethics Committee Approval

Studies involving human subjects or animals must have appropriate ethics committee approval. Include the name of the committee and the approval number in the Methods section.

Clinical Trial Registration

All clinical trials must be registered in a recognised registry (e.g. CTRI, ClinicalTrials.gov) before patient enrolment. Provide the registration number in the manuscript.

Patient Confidentiality

Patient identities must be protected. Obtain written informed consent for case reports or any identifiable patient information, including clinical photographs.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure

    1. Text generation, editing or translation assistance
    2. Data analysis or code generation
    3. Figure, image or graphical abstract generation

Disclosure must specify the tool and version used, and how it was used, in a dedicated statement at the end of the Methods section (for analysis/figure use) and/or the Acknowledgments section (for writing assistance) - not only in Acknowledgments.

    1. AI tools must not be used to generate or verify citations; authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy of all references and content, including checking for fabricated or non- existent citations.
    2. AI-generated or AI-altered images/figures representing data (as opposed to illustrative schematics) are not permitted unless explicitly disclosed and approved by the Editor.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Manuscript Preparation

The manuscript should be prepared in English (British English spelling) using MS Word with a 1-inch margin on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) of the page. Times New Roman font should be used throughout.

    1. Body text: 12 pt
    2. Article title: 14 pt, bold, uppercase (see Section 1 - Article Title)
    3. Main section headings: 14 pt, uppercase
    4. Subheadings: 12 pt, bold, lowercase

Manuscripts should be concisely typewritten in 1.5 line spacing on A4-sized sheets, with pages numbered consecutively. No abbreviations or acronyms should be used in the title or abstract, except for units of measurement. There should be no decorative borders anywhere in the text, including the title page. The complete MS Word document, with graphs and illustrations embedded, should not exceed 1 MB.Word limits above are the governing measure for length (rather than page count) and include the main text from Introduction through Conclusion; they exclude the title page, abstract, references, tables and figure legends.

Word and Reference Limits by Article Type
Article Type Max. Words Max. References Max.
Tables/Figures
Original Research 4,000 40 6
Review Articles 5,000 80 6
Case Reports 2,000 20 4
Short Communications 2,000 10 3

Word limits above are the governing measure for length (rather than page count) and include the main text from Introduction through Conclusion; they exclude the title page, abstract, references, tables and figure legends.

Sequence for Manuscript Submission

Article Title Authors and Co-Authors details and their affiliations Abstract (200–250 words)
Keywords (maximum 6) Introduction Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgements (optional)
References Figures Tables
Supplementary Material (if any) Informed consent (for research participants as needed)

Article Title

The title must be as brief as possible, comprehensive and descriptive. It should not exceed 20 words. The title should be 14 pt, bold, uppercase.

A short running title (maximum 50 characters) should also be provided for use as a page header.

Authors, Co-Authors and Affiliations

Each author must provide their full name, including forenames and surname. The Corresponding Author must be marked with an asterisk. In addition, the corresponding author must include a telephone number and e-mail address at the bottom left corner of the title page. If co-authors are from different organisations, their addresses should also be given and indicated using numbers after their names. Submissions with a larger author group must include a brief contributorship statement justifying each author's inclusion.

ORCID Requirement: An ORCID iD is mandatory for the corresponding author and strongly encouraged for all co-authors.

ABSTRACT

The abstract should start on a new page after the title page and should present the novelty of the study, the main findings or objective of the present work, and the principal conclusions, in not more than 250 words. All manuscript categories - Review Articles, Original Research papers, Case reports and Short Communications - must include an abstract.

Structured Abstract for Original Research

Use the following subheadings:

  • Background: State the problem and study objectives.
  • Methods: Describe study design, setting, participants and main outcome measures.
  • Results: Present key findings with statistical significance.
  • Conclusions: State the primary conclusions and their clinical relevance.

KEYWORDS

Provide 3–6 keywords, typed at the end of the abstract on the same page. Use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms where appropriate.

INTRODUCTION

The introduction should not be an extensive literature review, though it should provide sufficient background for the reader to understand and evaluate the results of the present study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This section should include sufficient technical information to allow the experiments to be reproduced. Procedural detail published previously should be referred to by citation.

    Statistical Analysis
    • Statistical software used (name and version)
    • Methods used for data analysis
    • Significance level (p-value threshold)
    • Confidence intervals, where appropriate
    • Methods for handling missing data
    • Sample size calculation, where applicable
Sex and Gender Reporting

Where the study involves human participants or animals, report the sex and/or gender composition of the study population and, where relevant, whether and how sex/gender were considered in the design, analysis or interpretation of results, in line with the SAGER (Sex and Gender Equity in Research) guidelines.

Reporting Guidelines

Authors should follow the appropriate recent version of reporting guideline for their study design:

    • Clinical trials - CONSORT
    • Trials of herbal/Unani/Ayurvedic formulations - CONSORT Extension for Herbal Medicinal Interventions, reporting the botanical/formulation source, standardisation and dosage form in full
    • Systematic reviews - PRISMA (registration in PROSPERO - https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ - is encouraged)
    • Observational studies - STROBE
    • Diagnostic studies - STARD
    • Animal studies - ARRIVE 2.0 (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments)
    • Qualitative or mixed-methods research - SRQR or COREQ
    • Study protocols - SPIRIT (trials) or PRISMA-P (systematic review protocols)
    • CARE guidelines for Case reports as per updated version.
    • TIDIER criteria for Acupuncture etc.
    • GCP-H for Homoeopathy
    • CLARIFY Guidelines for Yoga
Formulation and Raw Drug Authentication (AYUSH submissions)

For studies involving Unani, Ayurvedic or Siddha formulations, raw drugs or plant/mineral/animal-derived materials, the Methods section should report:

    • Botanical/scientific name, part used, and source (region/supplier) of each raw drug
    • Taxonomic authentication by a qualified botanist/pharmacognosist, with voucher specimen number and herbarium deposit institution
    • Standardisation parameters and reference to the relevant pharmacopoeia (e.g. Unani Pharmacopoeia of India, Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India), where applicable
    • Method of preparation, dosage form, and dose/duration of administration
Clinical Trials of AYUSH Interventions - Good Clinical Practice

Clinical studies of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (AYUSH) interventions conducted in India should additionally comply with the Good Clinical Practice Guidelines for Clinical Trials of ASU Medicines (Ministry of AYUSH / CCRAS), alongside the Declaration of Helsinki principles.

Results and Discussion

Results should be described as concisely as possible, using text, table(s) or figure(s) as appropriate. The reproducibility and statistical significance of measurements, material or biological data must be included where relevant. The Discussion should interpret the results and their significance with regard to previously published work, without significant repetition of the experimental procedures or reiteration of the introduction.

Statistical Reporting
    • Report exact p-values (e.g. p = 0.023) rather than p < 0.05
    • Include confidence intervals for all estimates
    • Report effect sizes, where appropriate

Conclusion

A short paragraph summarising the most important finding(s) of the research is required.

Acknowledgements

The source of any financial support, gifts, technical assistance and advice received for the work must be indicated in the Acknowledgements section.

Required Disclosures
    • Funding sources (grant numbers)
    • Data availability statement
    • AI tool usage (if applicable)
    • Author contributions (specify each author's role)
    • Contributions from individuals who do not meet authorship criteria

REFERENCES

The Vancouver style (predominant in medical and paramedical science) is used. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text (not alphabetically).

  • For Journal Reference

    Desai BG, Annamalai AR, Divya B, Dinesh BM. Effect of enhancers on permeation kinetics of captopril for transdermal system. Asian J Pharma 2008; 2: 35–37. doi: 10.xxxx/xxxxx (if available)

  • For Book Reference

    Ancel HC, Allen LV, Popovich NG. Pharmaceutical dosage forms and drug delivery systems. 5th ed., New Delhi: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2005: 311–12.

  • For Chapters in Book Reference

    Porter RJ, Meldrum BS. Antiepileptic drugs. In: Katzung BG (ed). Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. 6th ed., Norwalk (CN): Appleton and Lange; 1995; 361–80.

  • Government publications

    Government of India. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Indian Pharmacopoeia Vol. I & II. The Controller of Publications, New Delhi; 1996: 762–810.

Reference Guidelines
    • Vancouver (ICMJE) style throughout
    • Verify all references for accuracy before submission
    • Include the DOI where available
    • Avoid citing abstracts, personal communications, or unpublished work
    • For web references, include the access date
    • Do not cite AI chat outputs as references

FIGURE

Figures should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (i.e. Figure 1, 2, 3 etc.). Provide a brief title with each figure. File formats accepted are Microsoft Word (figures must be a single page), PowerPoint (figures must be a single page), PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, CDX (Chem Draw) or TGF (ISIS/Draw).

Figure Requirements
    • Minimum resolution: 300 DPI for photographs, 600 DPI for line art
    • Maximum file size: 10 - 20 MB per figure
    • Colour figures are acceptable where they enhance understanding
    • Figure legends should be self-explanatory and define all abbreviations used
    • Where a figure is reproduced or adapted from another publication, written permission from the copyright holder must be obtained and submitted, with the original source cited in the legend

TABLES

Please keep the number of tables to a minimum. Tables should be numbered consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and each table must start on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. Tables should be created using Microsoft Word's table tool (not the tab key). Vertical rules should not be used, and horizontal rules should be kept to a minimum.

Table Guidelines
    • Tables should supplement, not duplicate, text content
    • Include statistical measures (mean ± SD, confidence intervals) as applicable
    • Define all abbreviations in table footnotes
    • Use consistent decimal places throughout
    • As with figures, permission is required for tables reproduced or adapted from another publication.

REVIEW ARTICLES

Review articles should not exceed 5,000 words and should provide comprehensive coverage of the relevant literature. They should preferably be written by researchers with in-depth knowledge of the topic. All format requirements are like those for Original Research articles. Review articles need not be divided into sections such as Materials and Methods or Results and Discussion but must include an abstract and introduction.


Requirements for Reviews
    • Short Reviews: Not accepted.
    • Systematic Reviews: Must follow PRISMA guidelines and include a PRISMA flow diagram (PROSPERO registration encouraged).
    • Narrative Reviews: Must include a clear methodology section describing the literature search strategy (databases searched, search terms, date range, inclusion/exclusion criteria).
    • Abstract: May be structured (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions) or unstructured.
    • Quality Assessment: Include an assessment of study quality/risk of bias where appropriate.

CASE REPORTS

Case reports (maximum 2,000 words, 20 references, 4 tables/figures) should describe clinically instructive, unusual or novel cases and must present a structured account of the patient's presentation, diagnosis, intervention and outcome. All format requirements - margins, font, spacing and page numbering - are as set out for Original Research Articles.

Reporting Guideline - CARE

All case reports must follow the CARE (CAse Report) guideline, structured as follows:

    • Title - Include "case report" in the title, along with the point of greatest clinical interest
    • Key Words - 2 to 5 key words summarising the case
    • Abstract - What is unique about the case and what it adds to the literature; the main symptoms and clinical findings; the main diagnoses, interventions and outcomes; and the main take-away lessons
    • Introduction - Brief background summary of the case, referencing the relevant medical literature
    • Patient Information - Demographic information; main symptoms (chief complaints); medical, family and psychosocial history including co-morbidities and relevant genetic information; relevant past interventions and their outcomes
    • Clinical Findings - Relevant physical examination findings
    • Timeline - Depict important milestones relating to diagnosis and intervention (table or figure)
    • Diagnostic Assessment - Diagnostic methods; diagnostic challenges (e.g. financial, language or cultural); diagnostic reasoning including other diagnoses considered; prognostic characteristics where applicable
    • Therapeutic Intervention - Types of intervention (pharmacologic, surgical, preventive, self-care, etc.); administration (dosage, strength, duration); changes in intervention with rationale
    • Follow-up and Outcomes - Clinician- and patient-assessed outcomes; important follow- up test results; intervention adherence and tolerability (state how this was assessed); adverse and unanticipated events
    • Discussion - Strengths and limitations in the management of the case; discussion of the relevant medical literature; rationale for conclusions, including assessment of possible causes; the main take-away lessons of the case report
    • Patient Perspective - Include the patient's own perspective or experience wherever possible
    • Informed Consent - Written informed consent must be obtained from the patient (or legal guardian) and provided to the Editor on request
Additional Requirements for Homoeopathy Case Reports - HOM-CASE Extension

Case reports describing homoeopathic interventions must additionally comply with the HOM-CASE extension to CARE (van Haselen RA. Homeopathic clinical case reports: Development of a supplement (HOM-CASE) to the CARE clinical case reporting guideline. Complement Ther Med. 2016;25:78–85), which adds the following mandatory items to the CARE structure above:

    • Clinical History Detail (under Clinical Findings) - The homeopathic symptoms used in the prescribing decision
    • Type of Homeopathy (under Therapeutic Intervention) - Individualized / Formula (single- or multi-constituent) / Isopathy
    • Medication(s) (under Therapeutic Intervention) - Nomenclature (individual prescriptions or constituents plus trade names), manufacturer, potency, scale and galenic form
    • Objective Evidence (under Follow-up and Outcomes) - Findings reflecting expert external observation or measurement of the patient (e.g. laboratory tests, imaging, clinician examination), where applicable
    • Homeopathic Aggravation (under Follow-up and Outcomes) - State whether a temporary worsening of pre-existing symptom(s) occurred within a plausible timeframe after administration of the homeopathic medicine, followed by an improvement in the patient's condition
    • Causal Attribution (under Follow-up and Outcomes) - Possible causal attribution of the changes observed should be explicitly assessed and discussed (the MONARCH Inventory is one recognised tool for this)

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

The research and technical communications section (maximum 2,000 words) is open to interesting results worthy of publication without requiring an extensive introduction and discussion. This section should be organised as: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion (combined). Not more than 10 references should be provided. Tables, figures and references are to be arranged in the same way as for research papers. Brevity of presentation is essential.

JIM&H - Author Submission Checklist

Authorship & Ethics
    • All authors meet ICMJE authorship criteria; CRediT statement included
    • Non-author contributors listed in Acknowledgments, not as authors
    • AI tool use disclosed (Methods and/or Acknowledgments); no AI-listed authorship
    • Conflicts of interest declared (or 'no conflicts' statement)
    • Ethics committee approval / clinical trial registration number cited (if applicable)
    • Written informed consent obtained for case reports / identifiable patient data
    • Similarity/plagiarism screened; overlap with prior work disclosed
Manuscript Format
    • British English, MS Word, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, 1.5 line spacing, A4
    • Title 14 pt bold uppercase; headings 14 pt uppercase; subheadings 12 pt bold; body 12 pt
    • Pages numbered; no decorative borders; file size ≤ 1 MB
    • Word/reference limits met for article type (Original/Review/Case Report/Short Communication)
Structure & Sequence
    • Title (≤20 words) + short running title (≤50 characters)
    • Authors, affiliations, corresponding author marked (*), ORCID iD for corresponding author
    • Abstract (200–250 words, structured for Original Research) + 3–6 keywords (MeSH terms)
    • Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results & Discussion, Conclusion in order
    • Appropriate reporting guideline followed (CONSORT/PRISMA/STROBE/STARD/ARRIVE/CARE, etc.)
    • AYUSH formulations: botanical authentication, voucher no., pharmacopoeial standardisation reported
    • Sex/gender reporting per SAGER guidelines, where relevant
References, Figures & Tables
    • TVancouver (ICMJE) style; numbered in order of citation; DOIs included where available
    • All references verified; no AI-generated or fabricated citations
    • Figures numbered, cited in text, ≥300 DPI (600 DPI line art), ≤10 MB each
    • Tables created in Word's table tool, numbered, on separate pages, no vertical rules
    • Permissions obtained for any reproduced/adapted figures or tables
Final Checks
    • Acknowledgements include funding source, data availability, AI use, author contributions
    • Preprint DOI/URL disclosed, if applicable
    • Not under simultaneous submission elsewhere
    • Cover letter and all required declarations enclosed
    • Permissions obtained for any reproduced/adapted figures or tables

ETHICAL MATTERS

Authors involving in the usage of experimental animals and human subjects in their research article should seek approval from the appropriate Ethical committee in accordance with “Principles of Laboratory Animal Care”. The Method section of the manuscript should include a statement to prove that the investigation was approved and that informed consent was obtained.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT

All manuscripts should be submitted either via online submission system or via e-mail to jimhchennai2000@gmail.com as an attachment for quick evaluation.

For more information please contact us at e-mail: jimhchennai2000@gmail.com