Collision of herbal medicine and nanotechnology: a bibliometric analysis of herbal nanoparticles from 2004 to 2023

Abstract

Background: Herbal nanoparticles are made from natural herbs/medicinal plants, their extracts, or a combination with other nanoparticle carriers. Compared to traditional herbs, herbal nanoparticles lead to improved bioavailability, enhanced stability, and reduced toxicity. Previous research indicates that herbal medicine nanomaterials are rapidly advancing and making significant progress; however, bibliometric analysis and knowledge mapping for herbal nanoparticles are currently lacking. We performed a bibliometric analysis by retrieving publications related to herbal nanoparticles from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database spanning from 2004 to 2023. Data processing was performed using the R package Bibliometrix, VOSviewers, and CiteSpace.

Results: In total, 1876 articles related to herbal nanoparticles were identified, originating from various countries, with China being the primary contributing country. The number of publications in this field increases annually. Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Saveetha University in India are prominent research institutions in this domain. The Journal "International Journal of Nanomedicine" has the highest number of publications. The number of authors of these publications reached 8234, with Yan Zhao, Yue Zhang, and Huihua Qu being the most prolific authors and Yan Zhao being the most frequently cited author. "Traditional Chinese medicine," "drug delivery," and "green synthesis" are the main research focal points. Themes such as "green synthesis," "curcumin," "wound healing," "drug delivery," and "carbon dots" may represent emerging research areas.

Conclusions: Our study findings assist in identifying the latest research frontiers and hot topics, providing valuable references for scholars investigating the role of nanotechnology in herbal medicine.

Keywords: Bibliometric analysis; Citespace; Herbal medicine; Herbal nanoparticles; Nanoparticles; Traditional Chinese medicine; VOSviewer.

Fig. 1

Flowchart of the literature screening process

Fig. 2

Analysis of all publications. A Trends in annual publications. B Co-citation network analysis of publications. C Chronological timeline of key articles in herbal nanoparticle research

Fig. 3

The most productive and influential journals in research on the herbal nanoparticles. A The top 20 most productive journals contributing to research. B The top 20 journals ranked by H-index. C The publication trends in the top 5 journals over time. D Co-citation network analysis of journals

Fig. 4

Contribution and collaboration among countries and institutions. A The top 20 most productive countries. B The top 20 most cited countries. C contribution and collaboration among countries. D Collaboration map with a minimum number of documents of a country of > 10 publications based on collaboration among countries. E The top 20 most productive institutions. F Collaboration map with a minimum number of documents of a country of > 5 publications based on collaboration among institutions

Fig. 5

Authors’ contribution and collaboration. A The top 20 most productive authors. B The top 20 author’s production over time. C Authors’ collaboration network. D Co-citation network of authors

Fig. 6

Analysis of topic trends. A Word cloud based on author’s keyword. B The keyword cluster timeline. C Trend topics based on author’s keywords over time

Fig. 7

Keywords cluster analysis. A Keywords cluster analysis conducted using CiteSpace. B Co-occurrence visualization network of keywords

Fig. 8

Natural herbal nanoparticles and carbon dots

Fig. 9

Self-assembled herbal nanoparticles

Fig. 10

Herbal nanoparticle delivery systems