Phytochemical frontiers and molecular targets in liver cancer: A systematic bibliometric curation of natural compounds for HCC therapy (2015–2025)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive malignancy with limited treatment options. While natural products offer a vast chemical space for drug discovery, the literature at the oncology-phytochemistry interface remains fragmented. This study provides a high-resolution bibliometric curation to map research trends and pharmacological hotspots in HCC therapy over the last decade. A systematic search was conducted via Scopus for studies published between 2015 and 2025. Following manual curation of 1477 eligible articles, VOSviewer and the Bibliometrix R-package were utilized for analysis. A distinctive feature was the integration of taxonomic validation and manual text mining to ensure high accuracy of botanical and phytochemical data. Our findings reveal an exponential growth in scientific production, led by China, the USA, and India. The editorial landscape spans over 400 journals and 90 publishers, such as Elsevier, Frontiers, MDPI and Wiley. Phytomedicine and Journal of Ethnopharmacology were the most prolific journals. We identified over 700 distinct phytochemicals, notably quercetin, curcumin, and resveratrol, and approximately 600 plant species. Thematic clustering demonstrated that these compounds modulate critical cellular events, including apoptosis, oxidative stress, cell-cycle checkpoints, epithelial-mesenquimal transition, and distinct but complementary signaling pathway, such as Bax-Bcl-2, PI3K/Akt, mTOR, VEGF, SIRT1/NRF2, MAPK/ERK, CHOP and GRP78, and also different classes of miRNAs. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems emerged as a major trend to overcome bioavailability challenges. This bibliometric curation provides a mapping of the field, identifying critical thematic transitions and current knowledge gaps. The systematic cataloging of authors, institutions, publishers, journals, and phytochemicals offers a foundation for prioritizing molecules in future trials, providing objective insights for drug discovery and potential novel targeted therapies for HCC.