A critical appraisal on the performance of natural products as a green alternative for the management of PCOS: A bibliometric overview

The incidence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in women of reproductive age is increasing worldwide and no specific treatment is available for this. Nowadays, medicinal plants are highly considered as therapeutic agents for disease management due to their easy availability and less toxic nature but they have not received much attention for the treatment of PCOS. This study presents a comprehensive knowledge of medicinal plants for PCOS management and bibliometric analysis of data available in Scopus database to understand the research trends with reference to co-authorship network, collaborative countries, source of documents, and different keywords through VOSviewer software. Maximum plants studied in PCOS belongs to Leguminosae family, however, the most studied plant is Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Lauraceae) and the preferred extract was hydroalcoholic extract. Out of 294 documents, 212 comprise of in vivo studies, where 43.87 % experiments were letrozole-induced animal model. South East Asian countries are predominantly exploring medicinal plants for PCOS management as the prevalence of PCOS is high in this region. Overall, this study may help future researchers to understand the research gaps and can assist as a pocket dictionary of appraisal reports on the performance of natural products for the management of PCOS. • Understanding the research trend related to PCOS and special attention towards medicinal plants across the glove. • Understanding the broad types of plants from different family investigated for the management of PCOS. • Pharmacological screening models for biological evaluation of phytopharmaceuticals in PCOS. • Critical analysis of bibliometric data to facilitate future decision-making.