Worldwide Research Trends on Medicinal Plants

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Ethnobotany
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• Medicinal plants represent the historical origin of modern medicine and remain a vital source for drug discovery.
• Plant-derived compounds have consistently contributed to pharmaceutical development throughout history.
• Understanding global research trends in medicinal plants is crucial for future drug development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a bibliometric analysis of medicinal plant research indexed in the Scopus database until 2019.
• To identify leading countries, institutions, and authors in the field and track their evolution.
• To analyze thematic shifts and research clusters over time, particularly in recent periods.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of over 100,000 publications from the Scopus database up to 2019.
• Identification and mapping of key contributors (countries, institutions, authors).
• Community detection analysis to explore relationships between authors, countries, and research topics, with a focus on recent research periods (2009-2014 and 2015-2019).

Main Results:

• Identified key global players and their research trajectories in medicinal plant studies.
• Observed a reduction in research clusters over time, with recent focus on unclassified drugs, traditional medicine, cancer, antidiabetic activity, and anti-inflammatory activity.
• Analysis revealed a shift in research focus from plant cultivation towards the identification of novel active compounds.

Conclusions:

• Global research trends in medicinal plants are increasingly concentrating on the discovery of new medicines and active compounds.
• The study highlights a declining emphasis on plant domestication and cultivation in favor of pharmacological investigation.
• Future research directions appear geared towards drug development rather than agricultural aspects of medicinal plants.