Global research trends and hotspots of plant physiologically active substances: quantitative visualization analysis based on <scp>CiteSpace</scp>

Abstract Plant‐derived physiologically active substances represent a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary research field with significant implications for human health, nutrition and industry. Utilizing CiteSpace‐based bibliometric and visualization analyses, this study systematically reviewed 8,096 documents from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC‐SCIE) published between 2000 and 2024. The results highlighted exponential growth in research outputs, emphasizing a notable shift from basic compound isolation and antioxidant assays towards advanced mechanistic studies, functional food applications and innovative nano‐delivery systems. The thematic evolution illustrated a clear transition across distinct research stages, driven by technological advances in metabolomics and synthetic biology, rising consumer demands for natural products and stringent regulatory frameworks. China, India, and the United States emerged as global research leaders, with expanding international collaboration networks facilitating knowledge dissemination. Core institutions, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences and India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, significantly influenced global research dynamics through extensive interdisciplinary cooperation. Emerging hotspots identified through keyword burst analysis encompassed plant immunity modulation, gut microbiota interactions, metabolic disease interventions and molecular dynamics simulations. Future research priorities highlighted include integrative multi‐omics methodologies, climate‐resilient phytochemical production, synthetic biology‐driven compound biosynthesis and enhanced clinical translation frameworks. Overall, this bibliometric investigation provides an essential roadmap for guiding future research strategies, promoting interdisciplinary collaborations and facilitating sustainable industrial exploitation of plant‐derived bioactive substances.