Improving articles reporting nutritional studies of extracts in the British Journal of Nutrition and in the Journal of Nutritional Science

Investigation of novel nutrients present in the extracts of plants and other organisms that have benefits to health is a rapidly expanding area of research. For example, the number of papers published on the health effects of plant-derived extracts has increased from less than thirty-five per year before 2007 to over eighty per year in 2011 and 2012 (www.webofknow ledge.com search terms: plant extract; nutrition; health), with over 940 primary articles published in total. Robust claims for health benefits from these substances require supporting evidence based on empirical investigations carried out to the highest standards of scientific rigour. Unfortunately, some papers published on such extracts fall short of these standards and so may damage the development and reputation of the field. aim to publish high-quality nutritional research including nutritional studies on extracts that have potential health benefits. The Directions to Authors for these journals have been revised following an editorial by Calder (1) and after internal consultation in order to set standards of experimentation for nutritional studies of extracts. These revisions are detailed in the Directions to Authors published in June 2013 (see links from http://www.