Instruction for Authors
Submission
Manuscripts should be submitted by one of the authors of the manuscript (designated as the corresponding author) through the online manuscript submission system for the journal. Only electronic Word (.doc, .docx) files can be submitted. The submitting author takes responsibility for the manuscript during submission and peer review.
Manuscript format
There are different types of articles that can be submitted to AdvPBL, including:
1. Original Research Articles
These are detailed studies reporting original research. They are the primary literature and follow the usual order: abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, conclusion, references. Full-length original research manuscripts should generally be in the range of 3000 to 4,500 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figure legends and declarations.
2. Review Articles
These are articles that summarize and analyze previously published studies on a particular topic. Hence, they are secondary literature. They do not usually contain new experiments but provide a broad understanding of a field and also identify trends, gaps, and future directions. Reviews should provide concise and critical updates on emerging topics in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. Full Review articles should generally be in the range of 4000 to 6000 words, excluding abstract, references, tables or figure legends and declarations.Mini reviews should be in the word range of 2000 to 4000 excluding abstract, references, tables and figure captions and declarations.
3. Short Communications
These are brief reports of important preliminary findings that require rapid publication. They are original research but are more concise, with limited data and shorter than full research articles. Short communication submissions to AdvPBL should be in the range of 1500 to 3000 words (excluding abstract, references, and declarations). They should also follow the usual format of original research articles. References should not exceed 15, and tables and figures should not exceed three.
4. Letter to the Editor
This is a short manuscript written to the journal editor, usually to comment on a published article, raise scientific concerns, provide clarification, or briefly communicate an important observation or discuss emerging issues. It is usually very concise, focused on a particular issue, has no abstract, and has minimal data presentation. It should be in the range of 500 to 1500 words, excluding references.
5. Editorials
These are short articles written by the editor, guest editor, or invited expert to express opinions, discuss important issues, introduce a journal issue, or comment on current developments in a field. They should not exceed 2000 words, and references should not exceed 15.
Exceptions to the word limits
Exceptions to the word limit for the various articles may be granted for outstanding submissions at the discretion of the Editor. AdvPBL considers concise but high-quality articles.
Cover letter
The manuscript should be submitted alongside with a cover letter which should include the title of the paper, a declaration of the originality of the work as well as four suggested reviewers.
Peer reviewers
At the point of submission of the manuscript, authors are required to suggest four (4) potential reviewers; however, whether or not to consider these reviewers is at the Editors discretion. Authors should not suggest recent collaborators or colleagues who work in the same institution as themselves. Authors should include such suggested peer reviewers in the cover letter and should provide names and the email addresses.
Authors may request exclusion of individuals as peer reviewers, but they should explain the reasons in their cover letter on submission.
Graphical abstract
During submission or before publication, AdvPBL requires that authors submit a graphical abstract (as PNG files, max 4MB, 300 dpi) of the work for original research and review/short communication articles. They are meant to provide the readers with a visual and thus faster and easier overview of the content of the work.
Preparing your manuscript
Manuscript style
The language of the journal is English. Each manuscript should be typed double-spaced on A4 (8.5" x 11") paper size with 1 inch margins. It should be arranged in the following order: Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Limitations of the Study, Conclusion, Declarations (Ethical approval, Informed Consent, Consent for Publication, Availability of Data and Materials, Competing Interests/Conflict of Interests, Funding, Authors' Contributions, Acknowledgements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure) and References. The texts of the sections, excluding the Abstract and Introduction, can be divided into sub-sections with brief headings. Review papers may have different headings of the sections and are exempted from following the above suggestions.
Title
The title must be concise and without abbreviations. The first page should contain the title of the article, authors' names (with full first name, initial, and then the last name of each author), and the affiliation of each author with the city and country. The corresponding author (indicated with an asterisk) must provide the full corresponding address (including telephone and e-mail address) at the bottom of the title page.
Abstract
The abstract should be concise and informative and not exceed 250 words in length. It should be written as a single paragraph without subheadings, while presenting the required information in the following sequence: Background – briefly introduce the study and provide the necessary context; Aim – clearly state the objective(s) of the study; Methods – describe the methodology employed in sufficient detail to ensure clarity, precision, and reproducibility; Results – present the principal findings of the study without interpretation, discussion, or citations; and Conclusion – provide a clear and concise statement of the major conclusion(s), ensuring that they are directly supported by the study objectives and findings. The abstract should accurately summarize the study and enable readers to understand its purpose, methodology, key results, and significance.
Keywords: Provide between 4 and 8 keywords, arranged in alphabetical order, each separated from the other with a comma. Use of abbreviations should be avoided; only standard abbreviations, well known in the established area, may be used, if appropriate.
Introduction Here, provide a factual background, clearly defined problem(s), proposed solution(s), a brief literature survey, the scope, justification of the work done and the aim of study.
Material and methods
Give adequate information to allow the experiment to be reproduced. Already published methods should be mentioned with references. Significant modifications of published methods and new methods should be described in detail. This section will include sub-sections.
Statistical Methods
Authors should include the complete information on the statistical methods and measures used in their research.
Results and Discussion
Results and Discussion may be presented either separately or as a combined section. Results should be clearly described in a concise manner. Results for different parameters should be described under subheadings. All results presented in tabular form or graphical form should be comprehensively described in this section. Table or figure numbers should be mentioned in parentheses for better understanding. The discussion should not repeat the results, but provide detailed interpretation of data. This should interpret the significance of the findings of the work and the findings compared with previous reports. Citations should be given in support of the findings.
Table, schemes and figures
All Tables, schemes and figures should be inserted into the main text close to their first citation and must be numbered following their number of appearance (Figure 1, Scheme 1, Figure 2, Scheme 2, Table 1, etc.). No tables or figures should be given without discussion or reference inside the text.
Tables
Table headings should be placed above the table. Tables should be explanatory enough to be understandable without any text reference. Footnotes should be placed below the table with superscript lowercase letters. All table columns should have an explanatory heading. Smaller fonts may be used for larger tables, but no less than 8 pt. in size. Authors should use the Table option of Microsoft Word to create tables. Vertical grid lines are not allowed in the table (as much as possible).
Figures
Each figure should have a caption (placed below the figure). The caption should be concise and typed separately, not on the figure area. Figures should be self-explanatory. Information presented in the figure should not be repeated in the table. All symbols and abbreviations used in the illustrations should be defined clearly. Figure legends should be given below the figures.
Equations
All equations should be created using the Equation Editor in Microsoft Word (accessible via Insert → Equation, located at the top-right corner of the ribbon). Equations should not be inserted as images or created using text boxes. Equations should be numbered consecutively (e.g., Equation 1, Equation 2, etc.) and cited appropriately in the text.
Limitations of the study
Authors should clearly state the limitations of their study and discuss how these limitations may affect the interpretation, validity, or generalizability of the findings. Recommendations for future research arising from these limitations may also be included. This section should be presented as a separate section immediately before the Conclusion.
Conclusions
This should briefly state the major findings of the study which should be in line with the stated objectives of the study.
Proofs
Upon acceptance, a pdf file of proof will be sent to the corresponding author as an e-mail attachment. Authors will be asked to check any typographical or minor clerical errors in the manuscript at this stage. No other major alteration in the manuscript is allowed at this stage.
Ethical approvals
Research involving human subjects, human materials or animals must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines. Ethical approval must be obtained from the relevant institutional committee. If your research does not involve human subjects, human materials or animals, the authors should state this as: “Not applicable” under the Ethical approval section.
Studies involving human subjects or human materials
Research involving human subjects or human materials must have been performed according to the Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/). Ethical approvals must be obtained from the relevant institutional ethical committee. The ethical approval number together with the ethical committee name must be stated. In addition, informed consent to participate in the study should be obtained from all participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 18).
Research involving animals
For research involving animals, the ethical approvals must be obtained from the relevant institutional ethical committee. A statement detailing compliance with relevant international guidelines (e.g. the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) (https://iclas.org/guidelines-for-researchers/) must be stated. In addition, the ethical approval number together with the ethical committee name must be stated.
Studies involving plants
Experimental research on plants including collection of plant material, must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines. For each plant, the voucher specimen must be deposited in a public herbarium or other public collection providing access to deposited material, and information on the voucher specimen and who identified it must be included in the manuscript.
Declarations
All manuscripts submitted to the journal must include the following nine declarations immediately before the References section. They should be in the same order as listed below.
1. Ethical Approval
Research involving human participants must have received approval from an appropriate institutional or national ethics committee. Authors must provide the name of the approving committee and the approval number where applicable.
All procedures involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional and/or national research committee and with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Example:
For studies involving humans:
Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee of XYZ University Teaching Hospital (Approval No. XYZ/HREC/2025/001). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
For studies involving animals and biological materials
For studies involving animals, or biological materials, authors must state the name of the approving ethics committee/institution and the approval number where applicable.
Example:
This study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee of XYZ University (Approval No. XYZ/2025/001).
If ethical approval was not required, authors should clearly state:
"Ethical approval was not required for this study.
2. Informed Consent
For studies involving human participants, authors must state whether informed consent was obtained.
Example:
Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their inclusion in the study.
If not applicable, state:
"Not applicable."
3. Consent for Publication
Where individual data, photographs, or identifiable information are included, authors must indicate that consent for publication was obtained.
Example:
Consent for publication was obtained from all participants whose data are included in this manuscript.
If not applicable, state:
"Not applicable."
4. Availability of Data and Materials
Authors should indicate where the data supporting the findings can be accessed.
Example:
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Or:
All relevant data are included within the manuscript and its supplementary materials.
5. Competing Interests / Conflict of Interests
Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial competing interests.
Example:
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Or:
Author A has received research funding from XYZ Company. All other authors declare no competing interests.
6. Funding
Authors must disclose all sources of financial support.
Example:
This research was funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Grant No. XXXX.
If no funding was received, state:
"This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."
7. Authors' Contributions
The specific contributions of each author should be described (using the authors' initials: First name, middle name, and last name; Example Peter E. Ugwu as PEU)
Example:
Author A: Conceptualization, methodology, data collection, writing—original draft.
Author B: Data analysis, supervision, writing—review and editing.
Author C: Laboratory investigations and validation.
All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
8. Acknowledgements
Individuals, institutions, or organizations that contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged.
Example:
The authors thank the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, XYZ University, for providing laboratory facilities.
If none:
"Not applicable."
9. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure
Authors must disclose any use of artificial intelligence tools in preparing the manuscript.
Example:
"The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI) for language editing and grammar improvement. The authors reviewed and take full responsibility for the final content".
Or:
"The authors did not use any artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of this manuscript".
References
Citations in the text should be indicated by Arabic numerals in square brackets, for example, [1], [2,3], or [4–7], in the order in which they first appear in the text. The reference list should be numbered consecutively to correspond with the in-text citations; however, the reference numbers in the reference list should not be enclosed in square brackets.
Only published or accepted manuscripts should be included in the reference list. Articles submitted for publication, unpublished findings, and personal communications should not be included in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text (e.g., EM Ugwu, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Unpublished results or personal communication). An unpublished result which has been accepted for publication in any journal should be listed as "In press".
Examples are given below.
Reference to a journal:
Uzor PF, Ishiwu BU, Nwodo NJ, 2020. In vivo antimalarial effect of Ananas comosus (L.) Merr (Bromeliaceae) fruit peel and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy profiling: A possible role for polyunsaturated fatty acid. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 19 (1): 137-145. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v19i1.21
NB: For accepted unpublished papers, same as above, but “In press” appears instead of the page numbers. For instance:
Uzor PF, Ishiwu BU, Nwodo NJ, 2020. In vivo antimalarial effect of Ananas comosus (L.) Merr (Bromeliaceae) fruit peel and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy profiling: A possible role for polyunsaturated fatty acid. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, In press.
Reference to a book:
Rang HP, Dale MM, Ritter JM, Moore PK, 2003. Pharmacology, 5th ed., Churchill Livingstone: Edinburgh.
Uzor PF, Osadebe PO, 2020. Stereochemistry: optical activity and drugs, 2nd ed., University of Nigeria Press Ltd.: Nsukka.
Authored chapter in edited publication
Okoye TC, Uzor PF, Onyeto CA, Okereke EK, 2014. Safe African medicinal plants for clinical studies. In: Kuete V (editor), Toxicological survey of African medicinal plants, 1st ed., Elsevier Inc.: USA; pp. 535-555.
Reference to web-resource or electronic articles
Lutgen P, 2019. The strong prophylactic and antimalarial properties of polyunsaturated fatty acids. [Accessed 11 December, 2019]. Available: https://malariaworld.org/blog/strong-prophylactic-andantimalarial- properties-polyunsaturated-fatty-acids.
Anonymous, 2012. Parallels between tissue repair and embryo morphogenesis: a conceptual framework. Global Health 2006; 16:4. [Accessed 29 March, 2012]. Available: http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/1/1/14.
Reference to organization as author
WHO, 2015. World Malaria Report 2015, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
DOI Citation Policy
In addition to the complete citation and referencing, authors are required to provide the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for all cited journal articles whenever a DOI has been assigned. Authors must include the DOI in the reference list using the standard URL format: https://doi.org/xxxxx.
For publications that do not have an assigned DOI (e.g., some older articles, certain regional journals, books, reports, or other non-journal literature), authors should cite the reference accurately and completely without a DOI.
Authors are encouraged to verify all DOI information through Crossref before submission.
Important notifications and submission of revised manuscript
Authors are encouraged to log in to the journal's online submission platform regularly to monitor the progress of their submissions and to check for editorial or reviewer communications. In addition to email notifications, important communications and requests from the editorial team may be posted under the Review Discussion section of the manuscript record. Authors should therefore check both their registered email address and the Review Discussion section regularly.
Submission of revised manuscript
When a manuscript is returned for revision, authors should submit the revised manuscript through the “Revisions” section of the online submission system. Authors should not submit revised manuscripts as new submissions.
The revised submission should include the following, where applicable:
- Revised manuscript — with all changes incorporated clearly and accurately.
- Response to Reviewers' Comments — a point-by-point response indicating how each comment has been addressed. Where a comment has not been adopted, authors should provide a clear justification.
- Similarity/Plagiarism Test Report — where requested by the editorial office.
- Language Editing Certificate or Evidence of Language Editing — where requested, particularly when the manuscript requires substantial improvement in English language and presentation.
- Other required documents or files specifically requested by the editor.
Authors should ensure that all required files are uploaded under “Revisions” before completing the revision submission. Failure to provide the requested documents may delay further editorial processing.
Authors are also advised to review the Review Discussion and all editorial notifications carefully before submitting a revision, as additional instructions or requirements may be communicated through these channels.
