The status of and trends in the pharmacology of berberine: a bibliometric review [1985-2018]

Berberine has significant antibacterial and antipyretic effects and is a commonly used drug for treating infectious diarrhoea. The current research data show that the pharmacological effects of berberine are numerous and complex, and researchers have been enthusiastic about this field. To allow researchers to quickly understand the field and to provide references for the direction of research, using bibliometrics, we analysed 1426 articles, dating from 1985 to 2018, in the field of berberine pharmacology. The research articles we found came from 69 countries/regions, 1381 institutions, 5675 authors, and 325 journals; they contained 3794 key words; they were written in 7 languages; and they were of 2 article types. This study summarizes and discusses the evolution of the historical themes of berberine pharmacology as well as the status quo and the future development directions from a holistic perspective.