Bibliometric and visual analysis of gut microbiota research in functional bowel disorders from 2016 to 2025

Research into Functional bowel disorders (FBDs) is increasingly focused on the role of gut microbiota (GM) in their pathogenesis and treatment. Nevertheless, a thorough and organized assessment of the existing research landscape remains absent. This study aimed to assess the research landscape, hotspots, and clinical advancements concerning GM in FBDs from 2016 to 2025, thereby providing a theoretical reference for future investigations.

Publications from 2016 to 2025 were sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases. These datasets were analyzed through a comprehensive bibliometric approach using R software, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace, with the resulting data visually represented for clearer interpretation. In addition, we collected clinical trials from PubMed during this period to evaluate advancements in the field.

From 2016 to 2025, the field of GM in FBDs exhibited a substantial overall increase in annual publications, with China being the most prolific contributor, followed by the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The United States maintains the most extensive international collaboration network. At the institutional level, Mayo Clinic in the United States and University College Cork in Ireland emerged as the most active hubs for cooperative research. The journal Nutrients published the highest number of articles, while Gastroenterology garnered the greatest citation count. High-frequency keywords encompassed themes such as probiotics, double-blind, short-chain fatty acids, inflammation, and gut-brain axis. Current research emphasizes: (1) the mechanism by which GM influences FBDs via the gut-brain axis, (2) variations in the composition and metabolites of GM among different subtypes of FBDs, and (3) intervention strategies for treating FBDs through the modulation of GM. Clinical trials in this field have primarily concentrated on the role of core metabolites of the GM in symptom regulation in FBDs, the clinical application of integrated GM-modulating strategies, and the impact of specific GM abnormalities together with precision interventions.

This study employed bibliometric and visual analytic approaches to provide a systematic overview of the research landscape and to identify key hotspots in GM research related to FBDs, offering critical insights that may guide future scientific investigations and clinical applications.