Three decades of research on Centella asiatica: insights and future trends from bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. (CA; Family: Apiaceae) remains a major herb in the indigenous medicines of many Asian and African countries. Scientists have been delving deeper to fully understand the rationale for the various anecdotal therapeutic claims ascribed to its usage. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the published research on CA within the past three decades. Methods: The original articles and conference papers on CA research between 1991 and 2021 indexed on the Scopus® database were retrieved and analyzed by VOSviewer® software. Results: The ∼2000 published research articles have been cited > 38,000 times in the period under study. The dominance of India, Malaysia, China, Thailand, and Indonesia out of the 81 countries that contributed to CA research is obvious. These Asian countries altogether contributed more than two-thirds of the publication count. However, the Italian scientist, Belcaro GV affiliated with the Università Degli Studi "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti - Pescara, Italy led the individual pack with 26 publications on CA while Kim OT of the Rural Development Administration, South Korea is the most cited author with 532 citations. The Thai universities - Chulalongkorn, Mahidol, Khon Kaen, Prince of Songkla, and Chiang Mai are actively involved in the research on CA having published ∼7 % of the total outputs and citations within the last 31 years. Conclusions: The primary focus of the research on CA has been its efficacy in the management of wound healing and other chronic conditions. Recent investigations are expanding into cosmetics, phytoremediation, and food packaging.