Comparative Bibliometric Analysis of Herbal Medicine Research in Chinese and Iranian  Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Clinical Trials

Shahram Shafa; Tayyebeh Zarei; Majid Vatankhah; Fatemeh Rahmanian; Ehsan Rahmanian; Sara Rahmanian; Mansour Deylami; Mojtaba Ghaedi; Amir Hossein Pourdavood; Lohrasb Taheri; Somayeh Mehrpour; Mehrdad Malekshoar; Bibi Mona Razavi; Fatemeh Eftekharian

doi:10.31661/gmj.v15i.3573

Authors

Shahram Shafa Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9888-4630
Tayyebeh Zarei Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Management Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8605-7742
Majid Vatankhah Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Management Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2053-1138
Fatemeh Rahmanian Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9996-9289
Ehsan Rahmanian Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1321-8688
Sara Rahmanian Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9785-9683
Mansour Deylami Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5933-3219
Mojtaba Ghaedi Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0761-5898
Amir Hossein Pourdavood Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6211-5941
Lohrasb Taheri Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3702-2778
Somayeh Mehrpour Department of Anesthesiology, Shahid Rajaee Heart Hospital, Tehran, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2626-5272
Mehrdad Malekshoar Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Management Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3361-5429
Bibi Mona Razavi Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Management Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4381-5950
Fatemeh Eftekharian Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7101-1602

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31661/gmj.v15i.3573

Keywords:

Bibliometrics; Herbal Medicine; Traditional Chinese Medicine; Persian Medicine

Abstract

Background: Traditional medicine, rooted in ancient history, resurged due to concerns over synthetic pharmaceuticals’ adverse effects. This study goal was to conduct a bibliometric analysis of herbal medicine research in Iranian and Chinese CAM clinical trials to identify trends, patterns, and differences in research productivity. Materials and Methods: This bibliometric study compared Chinese and Iranian CAM clinical trials using Web of Science data. It focused on RCTs, applying search terms for CAM and Chinese or Iranian CAM, with exclusion criteria to filter out irrelevant publications. The dataset included author information, article details, keywords, and citation history. It calculated the Annual Growth Rate (AGR) and used visual tools like the Three-Field Plot to illustrate associations. Additionally, Lotka’s Law was applied to author productivity, and a co-citation collaboration network was analyzed using Bibliometrix r package. Results: Key findings for Iranian CAM include 71 documents by 342 authors with an average document age of 3.11 years. Chinese CAM featured 255 documents by 1857 authors with an average document age of 5.75 years. Iranian CAM showed a negative annual growth rate of -18.05%, while Chinese CAM had a positive rate of 5.65%. The included studies for Chinese CAM span from 2004 to 2024, while those for Iranian CAM range from 2015 to 2024. The most cited Iranian CAM document had 66 citations, and in Chinese CAM, “TONG XL, 2012” and “LIU XL, 2019” had the highest total citations. Decentralized research practices were observed in China, while Tehran and Shiraz universities led clinical trials in Iran. Conclusion: Our study indicates differing research trends in Iranian and Chinese herbal medicine. Iranian CAM research showed a declining trend, with Tehran and Shiraz universities leading clinical trials, while Chinese CAM research displayed a growing landscape with a more decentralized approach among authors.

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Comparative Bibliometric Analysis of Herbal Medicine Research in Chinese and Iranian Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Clinical Trials

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