Quantifying the Global Research Effort on Bioactive Compounds: A Scientometric Analysis (1989-2023)

Abstract

Globally, there has been an evolving interest in the research area of bioactive compounds. Bioactive compounds have attracted significant attention because they prevent several chronic diseases. Assessing the current state of global bioactive compounds research activity is essential to identify the research trends in this field. This scientometric analysis aims to identify the trends in the publication of global bioactive compounds over the last 35 years. The study data were extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database to evaluate publications’ scientific results from 1989 to 2023. Software bibliometrix R-package Biblioshiny, BibExcel, HistCite, and VOSviewer have been used for analysis and visualization mapping of the data. The study found tremendous publication growth in the field during the last five years, i.e., 2011-2023. The King Saud University of Saudi Arabia has contributed 98 research publications, the highest amongst other institutions, and Brazil topped with 2081 publications. This study has some limitations in that only the data from the Web of Science Core Collection database were selected, so the analyses entirely depended on the quality of the input information imported from the WoS database. These findings suggest a strong momentum in bioactive compound research, emphasizing the need for continued global collaboration and exploring diverse databases to gain a broader understanding of the field’s progress.