It is a fundamental principle of scholarly communication that the Editor-in-Chief or Editor is solely and independently responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal may be published. In making such decisions, the Editor is guided by the journal's editorial policies and is subject to applicable legal requirements concerning defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. This principle recognizes the importance of scientific archives as permanent historical records of scholarly communication. Published articles should therefore remain accessible, accurate, and unaltered whenever possible. However, exceptional circumstances may arise in which a published article must be retracted, withdrawn, removed, or replaced. Such actions are not undertaken lightly and may only occur under extraordinary circumstances. In all cases, the archives of Pharmacology and Herbal Medicine Journal (PHMJ) will preserve the publication history and available versions of articles, including articles that have been retracted, withdrawn, or removed.

This policy has been developed to address such circumstances and to follow best practices within the academic and library communities. As standards and practices continue to develop, PHMJ will periodically review this policy and consider input from the academic and library communities. The journal supports the development and implementation of internationally recognized standards and best practices for maintaining the integrity of scholarly publishing and scientific information.

Article Retraction

An article may be retracted due to significant scientific or ethical problems, including multiple submissions, false authorship claims, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, or other forms of serious publication malpractice. Where appropriate, a signed statement from the author(s) may be required before the article can be retracted. The consent of all authors will be sought where practicable. A retraction notice will be published and clearly linked to the original article, which will be prominently identified as a retracted article. The notice will state the reasons for the retraction and identify who initiated or requested the retraction. The original article will normally remain available in the online and print versions of the journal, but it will be clearly marked as retracted. The retraction will also be indicated on the journal's table of contents or article listing.

Article Withdrawal

Article withdrawal is strongly discouraged and is reserved for exceptional circumstances involving an early version of an article that has been accepted for publication but has not yet been formally published, although it may already have appeared online. The article may contain substantial errors, may have been posted inadvertently more than once, or may violate publication ethics guidelines, such as through multiple submission, false authorship claims, plagiarism, or improper use of data. In exceptional circumstances, particularly where legal or ethical violations are involved or where false or inaccurate data may pose a risk of harm, the journal may withdraw the article from its electronic platform. In such cases, the article content, including the HTML and PDF versions, may be removed and replaced with a notice stating that the article has been withdrawn in accordance with the PHMJ Article Withdrawal Policy, together with a link to the relevant policy.

Authors retaining copyright in their articles do not thereby have an unrestricted right to withdraw an article after publication. The integrity of the published scientific record is paramount, and the policies concerning retraction, withdrawal, removal, and replacement continue to apply where necessary.

Article Removal

In extremely limited circumstances, a published article may need to be removed from the journal's online platform. Removal will only be considered when an article is clearly defamatory, violates the legal rights of another person or entity, is subject to a court order, or where there is strong evidence that the article may pose a serious and immediate health or safety risk if acted upon. In such circumstances, the article's metadata, including the title and author information, will be retained. The article text will be replaced with a notice explaining that the article has been removed for legal, ethical, or safety reasons.

Article Replacement

In cases where an article may pose a serious health or safety risk if its findings or recommendations are followed, the authors may request that the original article be replaced with a corrected version. Where replacement is approved, the removal procedure described above will be followed, and a retraction or replacement notice will provide a clear link to the revised article. The notice will also explain the reason for the replacement and preserve an appropriate record of the publication history, including the relationship between the original and corrected versions.