Unveiling Research Trends in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India

Abstract

This Scientometric study explores 35 years (1989–2023) of Indian research indexed on Web of Science pertaining to discipline of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs). A total of 8,057 documents, authored by 21,094 researchers and published in 1,551 journals, were analysed using MS Excel, Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. The findings reveal significant growth in MAPs research, especially after 2007, with a citation peak in 2021. Bradford’s Law identified Journal of Ethnopharmacology and Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge as core journals. Key authors include Javad Sharifi-Rad and Abhijit Dey. Citation analysis highlighted top-cited studies focusing on MAPs therapeutic applications for diseases like diabetes and oxidative stress. CSIR emerged as the leading institution, contributing 934 publications and 29,993 citations, with an average of 32.11 citations per publication. Keyword analysis shows prominent research themes such as “medicinal plants”, “antioxidant”, “traditional medicine”, “phytochemicals”, “apptosis” and “oxidative stress”. National funding bodies like “University Grants Commission”, CSIR, and “Department of Science and echnology” (DST) played key roles in supporting MAPs research. Publications are dominated by a few key publisher s viz. Elsevier, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis and Wiley, which account for 55 % of the total output. India’s MAPs research involves collaboration with 133 countries, notably USA, China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Italy. This study underscores India’s pivotal role in MAPs research andscape and provides data-driven insights to support future MAPs research planning, funding and policy-making.