The The Peruvian Herb with Global Reach: A bibliometric Analysis of Lepidium meyenii (maca) Research from 2013 to 2024

Abstract

This analysis explored the global research trends of Lepidium meyenii (maca) for the last ten years, using bibliometric methods, and explore international collaborations, the evolution of active topics and emerging trends. We utilised various methodologies on the SCOPUS database such as keyword co-occurrence and co-authorship analysis to identify the most influential authors, institutions, and countries, along with the most cited publications in this field. We used Bibliomagika 2.2 and Bibliomagika 1.5 Split for frequency analysis, as well as VOSviewer for data visualization. We also delved into the co-occurrence of different terms connected to Lepidium meyenii (maca) and author keywords within the specified time period. A total of 313 publications were identified, with the most published in 2022, revealing an upward trend in the past decade. China (223 publications) emerged as the leading country in maca research, and the preeminent journal in this field was identified as Andrologia (15 publications). The analysis of keyword co-occurrence highlighted key thematic clusters, with "Lepidium meyenii (maca)," "herbal medicine," "macamides," "antioxidant," and "medicinal plants" as the most prevalent author keywords. Our findings suggest the global reach of Lepidium meyenii (maca) and offer insights into research patterns, the contributions of different countries, influential authors, and active journals. This data serves as a tool for researchers to identify future directions of research in this field.