Evidence mapPaperPMID 42514502Full record

ArticlePlants (Basel, Switzerland)2026

The Evolution of Phytochemical and Medicinal Plant Research in Chile: Status, Opportunities, and Challenges.

Gonzalo Fuentes-Barros, Sebastián Castro-Saavedra, Nicolás Montalva, Alejandro Vega-Muñoz, Jaime Mella, Antonia Díaz-Valdés, Camila Zoppi, Ana Caroline Avanco, Marco Mellado, Javier Echeverría

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Plants (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Gonzalo Fuentes-BarrosSAPHYCHEM, Santiago 7550000, Chile.
Sebastián Castro-SaavedraSAPHYCHEM, Santiago 7550000, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-6638-4981
Nicolás MontalvaCentro de Investigación en Sociedad y Salud (CISS), Universidad Mayor, Santiago 8340589, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-8612-663X
Alejandro Vega-MuñozFacultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Central de Chile, Santiago 8330507, Chile.ORCID 0000-0002-9427-2044
Jaime MellaInstituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile.ORCID 0000-0002-2434-8461
Antonia Díaz-ValdésCentro de Investigación en Sociedad y Salud (CISS), Universidad Mayor, Santiago 8340589, Chile.
Camila ZoppiSAPHYCHEM, Santiago 7550000, Chile.
Ana Caroline AvancoPrograma de Doctorado en Políticas Públicas, Universidad Mayor, Santiago 8340589, Chile.ORCID 0009-0000-6441-5051
Marco MelladoDirección de Investigación, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-9577-5180
Javier EcheverríaDepartamento de Ciencias del Ambiente, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170022, Chile.ORCID 0000-0002-1688-968X

Funding

Universidad de Santiago de Chile DICYT USACH 022541EM_PostdocUniversidad de Santiago de Chile Puente DGT Fonis-2510
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe global use of herbal medicines and research on plant bioactive compounds have steadily increased. In Chile, this growth is linked to ethnobotanical knowledge and advances in phytochemistry, although gaps persist in its evolution, leadership, and regulatory articulation. This study analyzes scientific production on phytochemicals and medicinal plants (1976-2025), identifying growth patterns, leading journals, authorship, and collaboration networks. METHODOLOGY: A mixed-methods approach combined bibliometric analysis of Web of Science records with inductive qualitative content analysis from researcher interviews. The quantitative phase applied performance analysis and scientific mapping, using indicators such as Price's, Lotka's, Bradford's, and Zipf's laws to evaluate evolution, productivity, and impact. The qualitative phase explored perceptions of the field's current state, limitations, and challenges, thereby contextualizing the bibliometric findings. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Analysis of 2149 articles and 6878 authors shows exponential growth (11.46% annually; R

conclusionsPhytochemistry in Chile is expanding rapidly, requiring integrated frameworks that combine clinical validation, sustainable biodiversity management, advanced analytical and computational tools, technology transfer, and adaptive public policies to translate scientific knowledge into evidence-based healthcare, biotechnology, and sustainable innovation.

Indexed as

bibliometric analysismedicinal plantsnatural productsphytochemistryscientific production

Identifiers

PMID42514502
PMCPMC13415090

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.