A Comprehensive Bibliometric Investigation on Antimicrobials from Fungal Origins with a Biotechnological Perspective

Abstract

Interest in research related to fungi exploration past few years, given its relevance to bioactive compounds production as these metabolites are a promising source of bacteriostatic or fungistatic compounds. Therefore, their use represents a significant alternative to traditional antibiotics by minimizing the risks related to microbial resistance. In this context, this work aimed to: assess the volume of annual publications on the subject and identify key players, analyze the collaboration network among researchers, and check the patents filed on this topic. For this purpose, the Bibliometrix R-package was used, as well as scientific metadata from the Web of Science and Scopus databases (n=506). In total, 256 sources, authors (n=2,526), keywords (n=1,812), and references (n=19,315) were analyzed from 1989 to 2023. The academic debate on the subject has been promoted by India (29%), United Kingdom (UK) (7%), China (6%) and the United States of America (USA) (6%). The authors identified as the most cited were Liu J (n=142), followed by Jesu Arockiaraj (n=106). There is a knowledge predominance of publications focusing on the life science disciplines. The most prolific institutions were the National Research Center (n=20) and the University of Pittsburgh (n=13). The most cited journals were the World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology (n=719) and Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (n=661). Finally, the United States Patent and Trademark Office represented 85% of the patents filed on the subject (n=28,303). Together, these results can direct researchers and Biotech industries in their search for the most important sources related to antimicrobial biotechnology.