Aims and scope

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Ayurveda and Holistic Medicine (JAHM) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal dedicated to advancing rigorous research in Ayurveda, traditional medicine, integrative and holistic health, and related biomedical and health sciences.

JAHM provides a multidisciplinary platform for the publication of scientifically and ethically conducted research evaluating traditional healthcare knowledge, practices, interventions, and products using appropriate contemporary research methodologies. The journal encourages critical scientific inquiry into the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, quality, mechanisms, and clinical relevance of Ayurveda and related integrative healthcare approaches.

JAHM welcomes positive, negative, and inconclusive findings when the research question, methodology, analysis, and reporting meet appropriate scientific and ethical standards.

Aims

JAHM aims:

To publish high-quality, methodologically rigorous, and evidence-based research evaluating Ayurvedic concepts, interventions, formulations, and healthcare practices.
To promote clinical, experimental, analytical, translational, and interdisciplinary research relevant to Ayurveda and integrative health.
To advance scientific understanding of the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, quality, and mechanisms of action of traditional and integrative healthcare interventions.
To encourage research connecting Ayurveda and traditional knowledge with contemporary disciplines including clinical medicine, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, public health, life sciences, and emerging biomedical sciences.
To promote the development and evaluation of safe, reproducible, and evidence-informed approaches to disease prevention, health promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and healthy ageing.
To encourage interdisciplinary and international collaboration among researchers, clinicians, traditional medicine practitioners, biomedical scientists, educators, and public-health professionals.
To provide a scholarly platform for the critical evaluation, documentation, interpretation, and advancement of traditional healthcare knowledge using appropriate research methodologies.
To promote research integrity, transparent reporting, reproducibility, and adherence to internationally recognized ethical and reporting standards.

Scope

JAHM considers original and scholarly contributions within the following broad areas:

Clinical and Integrative Health Research

Randomized and non-randomized clinical trials.
Observational and epidemiological studies.
Case reports and case series with significant clinical or scientific relevance.
Clinical research evaluating Ayurvedic interventions, formulations, procedures, and multimodal treatment approaches.
Clinical evaluation of Panchakarma, Rasayana, Vajikarana, and other therapeutic approaches described in Ayurveda.
Integrative approaches to the prevention, management, supportive care, and rehabilitation of acute and chronic health conditions.
Comparative effectiveness, safety, outcomes, and health-services research.
Clinical research integrating Ayurveda with other evidence-informed healthcare approaches.

Experimental, Pharmacological and Toxicological Research

Experimental evaluation of Ayurvedic medicines, formulations, medicinal plants, and therapeutic interventions.
Pharmacological and toxicological studies.
Pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and mechanisms of action.
Preclinical safety and efficacy studies.
Experimental models relevant to traditional medicine and integrative health.

Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and Drug Development

Pharmacognostic and phytochemical investigations of medicinal plants and formulations.
Isolation, characterization, and evaluation of biologically active compounds.
Pharmaceutical development and evaluation of traditional formulations.
Standardization, quality control, stability, and safety assessment.
Analytical methods and regulatory aspects relevant to Ayurvedic and traditional medicines.
Research on formulation development, dosage forms, drug delivery, and pharmaceutical processing.

Basic, Translational and Emerging Sciences

Scientific investigation of Ayurvedic concepts and biological hypotheses using appropriate contemporary methodologies.
Research exploring potential relationships between traditional concepts and physiology, molecular biology, genetics, genomics, epigenetics, metabolomics, microbiome science, bioinformatics, and systems biology.
Translational research connecting laboratory findings with clinical applications.
Mechanistic studies of Ayurvedic formulations and therapeutic procedures.
Biomarker and phenotype research relevant to Ayurveda and integrative health.
Computational, bioinformatics, network-pharmacology, molecular-docking, and other in-silico studies, when methodologically rigorous and biologically relevant.

Public Health, Preventive Medicine and Lifestyle

Swasthavritta and preventive healthcare.
Yoga and evidence-based lifestyle interventions relevant to the journal's scope.
Nutrition and dietary practices from traditional and contemporary perspectives.
Community-based and population-health interventions.
Epidemiology and health-promotion research.
Healthy ageing, geriatrics, maternal and reproductive health, and other population-health areas.
Research addressing the potential role of Ayurveda and integrative healthcare in public-health challenges.

Ayurveda Fundamental Principles and Classical Literature

Critical and scholarly investigation of fundamental Ayurvedic concepts and theories.
Research involving classical Ayurvedic texts, manuscripts, terminology, and historical sources.
Critical analysis and interpretation of traditional literature in relation to contemporary knowledge.
Research methodology for evaluating Ayurvedic concepts and traditional knowledge.
Historical and scholarly studies relevant to the development of Ayurveda and traditional healthcare systems.

Purely descriptive compilations of classical literature without adequate critical analysis, scholarly interpretation, methodological rigor, or a clearly defined contribution to knowledge may not be considered suitable for publication.

Research Methodology, Evidence Synthesis and Evidence-Based Practice

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Scoping reviews and other methodologically rigorous evidence syntheses.
Development and validation of clinical, diagnostic, outcome, and assessment tools.
Research methodology relevant to Ayurveda and traditional medicine.
Study protocols and clinical-trial protocols meeting applicable scientific, ethical, and registration requirements.
Evidence-based practice and implementation research.

Education, Policy and Health Systems

Innovations and research in Ayurveda education, pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, and educational technology.
Health-policy and health-systems research relevant to Ayurveda and integrative healthcare.
Ethical and regulatory issues in traditional and integrative medicine.
Research on accessibility, implementation, utilization, and integration of traditional medicine within healthcare systems.
National and international perspectives on Ayurveda research, education, regulation, and practice.

Article Types

JAHM considers appropriate scholarly submissions including:

Original Research Articles
Clinical and Experimental Research
Analytical Studies
Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses
Scoping and other rigorous Review Articles
Case Reports and Case Series
Study Protocols
Short Reviews
Methodological and Validation Studies

Acceptance is based on scientific and scholarly merit, methodological rigor, originality, ethical compliance, quality of reporting, and relevance to the journal's scope, rather than on whether study findings are positive, negative, or inconclusive.

Audience

JAHM serves an international readership comprising researchers, clinicians, academicians, educators, healthcare professionals, pharmacologists, pharmaceutical and life-science researchers, public-health professionals, policy-makers, and students interested in Ayurveda, traditional medicine, integrative and holistic healthcare, and related biomedical and health sciences.