Trends in the Study of Medicinal Plants Around the World Abstract

Trends in the Study of Medicinal Plants Around the World
Abstract; The practice of using medicinal plants dates back to ancient times and may even be regarded as the basis for modern medicine. Plant-derived compounds have long been and continue to be an important source of drug compounds. On the one hand, the most important nations, institutions, and authors who are researching this topic have been identified, along with their development over time. On the other hand, communities have been identified to examine the connections that exist between the authors, the countries, and the subjects of the study. In terms of research topics, the two most recent periods—from 2009 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2019—have been examined. It has been observed that the study areas or clusters have decreased, with the most recent clusters focusing on cancer, traditional medicine, unclassified drugs, in vivo studies of diabetes activity, and animal studies of anti-inflammatory activity. In conclusion, it has been observed that, rather than cultivating or domesticating plant species with this demonstrated potential, the trend in global research is to focus more on the search for novel medicines or active compounds.
1. Introduction.
There are approximately 350,000 to nearly half a million species of vascular plants, accounting for 10% of all vascular plant species. Plants have been used as medicines since ancient times, and they continue to be used today. Trial and error was initially used to treat illnesses or even just to feel better, thereby identifying useful plants with beneficial effects .In many contexts, this practice has come to be known as traditional medicine because it has been refined over time. "the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health, as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illnesses," is the official definition of traditional medicine.
Every civilization has come up with a medicine based on the plants in their own environment. Authors even assert that this passed-down knowledge is the source of medicine and pharmacy. In the world of medicine and pharmacy, hundreds of higher plants are still grown for their useful substances. The therapeutic properties of plants led to the development of medicinal drugs derived from specific plants with these advantages.
Before the 18th century, the active compound of many plants was unknown, but their therapeutic properties, effect on human organisms, and method of treatment were known. For instance, the Persian physician and scientist Avicenna (Ibn Sina) wrote the Canon of Medicine, which was used until the 18th century.
The ability to isolate the active principles of medical plants was made possible by the development of modern science, particularly during the Renaissance, particularly chemical analysis and the associated instrumentation, such as the microscope. In order to produce the medicines in the future, these active principles have been synthesized in the laboratory since then. The use of drugs was gradually increasing. Modern medicine seems to have abandoned the direct use of medicinal plants up until this point. The pharmaceutical industry of today is necessary for modern medicine because these medicines are largely based on the active principles of plants, so they are frequently used as raw materials. However, the underdeveloped world does not have access to this modern medicine of synthetic origin, so traditional medicine based on the direct use of medicinal plants continues to be used in a large portion of the world due to their low cost.
None of the bibliometric studies that have been published thus far offer a global perspective, as is a common feature. In addition, they are mostly based on Web of Science, and some of them are based on other databases that are more specific, like CAB Abstracts or PlantMedCUBA; however, no work that is based on Scopus has been observed. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the kinds of scientific advancements that are being made regarding medicinal plants, the research trends that are being pursued, and the countries and institutions that are carrying them out. A bibliometric analysis of all scientific publications on this topic is proposed for this purpose.