Bibliometric analysis of scientific research on Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst.

Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. is an African wild tree found in many countries across the continent. Its leaves, bark, root, and fruits are used in food, cosmetics, and traditional medicine. However, no systematic bibliometric review on S. birrea have been performed so far. This study covered publications made in 1986–2022 and investigated such bibliometric indicators as knowledge dynamics, links and structure, relevant journals, productive organizations, renowned authors, authoring patterns, national and international collaboration levels, etc. The bibliometric data on a total of 369 publications were downloaded from Scopus database and analyzed using the MS-Excel and VOSViewer software. The Scopus publications on S. birrea showed a versatile range in the interdisciplinary areas of research, with agricultural and biological sciences predominating. The Republic of South Africa was responsible for the largest number of citations. All in all, 63 countries published research on S. birrea in the specified time period, and the share of African countries was 65.43% of the total global research. Co-authorship and international collaboration were registered for six clusters. A total of 1114 researchers and 160 institutions actively contributed to S. birrea studies, with 37 having a minimum of five publications. Mapping of knowledge structure using the keyword co-occurrence revealed the related research areas. The Journal of Ethnopharmacology took the lead in terms of average citation. The co-citation analysis revealed some remarkable dynamics in S. birrea research. This bibliometric study provides a complete insight into S. birrea research development and publication patterns over the last 36 years.