Research status and visualization analysis of mulberry fruits based on bibliometric

【Objective】Mulberry is rich in various bioactive components such as anthocyanins, polysaccharides and flavonoids, and has attracted sustained attention for its functional value in the fields of nutritional health and food processing. Relying on its unique resource advantages and application potential, mulberry is expected to become an emerging research hotspot. To systematically clarify the development context and cutting- edge trends of mulberry research, a bibliometric- based visual analysis is conducted in this study.【Methods】Based on the academic papers on mulberries from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database and the Web of Science database from 2016 to 2025, this study analyzed the research keywords, authors, institutions, and countries related to mulberries using the bibliometric visualization software CiteSpace and VOSviewer. At the same time, the current research status of mulberries both domestically and internationally was investigated. Understanding the current state of mulberry research and development is crucial for fully leveraging its core value in functional nutrition and agricultural economy fields.【Results】A total of 1, 588 relevant articles were identified, comprising 1041 Chinese papers (65.55% ) from CNKI and 547 English papers (34.45% ) from WOS. Annual publication output peaked in 2021 for CNKI (190 articles), while WOS publications showed a slight upward trend, reaching their highest point in 2024 (70 articles). In the English literature of WOS, functional keywords such as“antioxidant activity”and“antioxidant”cumulatively accounted for 37%, indicating a primary research focus on physiological functions and health benefits. In the Chi-nese literature of CNKI, processing- related keywords like“mulberry wine”and“fermentation”comprised 28%, highlighting an emphasis on product development. CNKI literature focused on processing. The research focus has shifted from early basic analysis to applied and mechanistic studies. In the WOS database, the author with the highest number of publications is Ma Yongkun (20 articles), followed by Li Qian, Tchabo William, Kwaw Emmanuel, and Cheng Jingrong. These authors form four major core collaborative clusters, focusing on the research of basic component separation and identification of mulberries, processing technology, functional component analysis, and quality evaluation. In the CNKI network, eight collaborative clusters centered around Xiao Gengsheng and others have been formed, with Xiao Gengsheng having the highest number of publications (21 articles). The WOS institutional co-occurrence graph (230 nodes, 239 links) shows that domestic and foreign institutions have formed distinct regional collaboration clusters. For instance, universities in Jiangsu have relied on their advantages in food processing disciplines, while institutions in Guangdong have complemented each other by leveraging local resources and functional food platforms to conduct research. Foreign institutions have more specialized research directions, with European and American universities focusing on molecular mechanisms and efficacy verification, and Asian institutions concentrating on the analysis of functional components. In terms of publication volume, the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences leads with 34 articles. The CNKI institutional co-occurrence graph (292 nodes, 129 links) indicates that agricultural research institutes focus on cultivation and breeding, while engineering universities concentrate on processing and product development. There is close collaboration among institutions, forming a complete“cultivation - processing - evaluation”system. The Institute of Sericulture and Agro-product Processing of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences has the highest publication volume (19 articles). The national co-occurrence graph covers multiple regions globally, reflecting the degree of global participation in research. China is the core node, with close cooperation with the United States and India (42 and 37 collaborative publications respectively), and the proportion of international collaborative publications involving China accounts for 61% of the global total. The research system is complete; other regions have their own research focuses, forming strong complementarity with China.【Conclusion】 China holds a leading position in the research field of mulberries. In the WOS database, the total number of Chinese papers published in the past decade accounts for 42.7% of the global total, ranking first on the world. Core achievements (highly cited papers) account for 35.1% of the global total of highly cited papers in this field, ranking among the top globally. The main focuses are on aspects such as fruit wine fermentation, active ingredient extraction, and utilization of by- products. The international research on mulberries mainly concentrates on the molecular mechanism analysis of active ingredients, in vitro and in vivo efficacy verification of functional components, separation, purification and structural identification of functional components, as well as resource utilization and component analysis. It is necessary to strengthen innovation-driven development and the transformation of achievements, and fully leverage their core value in the fields of functional nutrition and agricultural economy.