Ohio State Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy:
Home of the Journal of Natural Products Head Office

Above, Dr. Kinghorn and Journal former staff members Alison Pawlus and Rebecca Johnson.

Management Board

American Chemical Society: Anne C. O'Melia,
Debora Bittaker

American Society of Pharmacognosy, David Slatkin, Jerry L. McLaughlin

Editors of the Journal

Theodor Just 1938-1959 (volumes 1-22)

Arthur E. Schwarting 1960-1976 (volumes 23-39)

Jack L. Beal 1977-1983 (volumes 40-46)

James E. Robbers 1984-1993 (volumes 47-56)

A. Douglas Kinghorn 1994-present (volumes 57-)


Editorial Staff

A. Douglas Kinghorn, The Ohio State University, Editor-in-Chief

Daneel Ferreira, The University of Mississippi, Associate Editor

William H. Gerwick, University of California at San Diego, Associate Editor

Richard G. Powell, USDA, ARS, Peoria, Illinois, Associate Editor

Alice M. Clark, The University of Mississippi,
Assistant Editor

Lisa Dush and Mark Bahar, The Ohio State University, Journal Office Administrators

History of Journal

The Journal of Natural Products has been the scientific journal of the American Society of Pharmacognosy (http://www.phcog.org) since 1961, but was first published as Lloydia in 1938 by the Lloyd Library and Museum, 917 Plum Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. This institution was founded by John Uri Lloyd, and its development was also fostered by his brothers Curtis Gates Lloyd and Nelson Ashley Lloyd. The library is a repository of an internationally famous collection of literature in the natural sciences with preeminence in the pharmaceutical sciences, eclectic medicine, botany, and chemistry, and is available to scientists and others for reference and research. The Journal of Natural Products became known under its present title in 1978, during the editorial tenure of Professor Jack L. Beal of the College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University. Originally a quarterly publication, it became a bimonthly journal in 1975, and has appeared monthly since 1992. The American Society of Pharmacognosy began to co-publish the Journal of Natural Products with the American Chemical Society in 1996.

Scope of the Journal

The Journal of Natural Products invites and publishes papers that make substantial and scholarly  contributions to the area of natural products research. Contributions may relate to the chemistry and/or biochemistry of naturally occurring compounds or the biology of living systems from which they are obtained. Specifically, they may be articles that describe secondary metabolites of microorganisms, including antibiotics and mycotoxins; physiologically active compounds from higher plants and animals; biochemical studies, including biosynthesis and microbiological transformations; fermentation and plant tissue culture; the isolation, structure elucidation, and chemical synthesis of novel compounds from nature; and the pharmacology of compounds of natural origin.

Impact Factor

The impact factor for the Journal of Natural Products has increased from 1.432 in 1997 to the highest ever level of 2.418 in 2006. Likewise, the total number of cites has increased from 3,364 in 1997 to 10,647 in 2006. The journal is ranked as #3 among medicinal chemistry journals in terms of its total number of cites, and is one of five American Chemical Society journals credited with nearly 40% of all citations in the field of Medicinal Chemistry.