From Reproductive Biology to Woody Oil Utilization: An Integrated Review and Bibliometric Analysis of Idesia polycarpa

Idesia polycarpa Maxim. is a predominantly dioecious woody oil species valued for its oil-bearing fruits, bioactive metabolites, and distinctive reproductive biology. To provide an integrated understanding of its biological characteristics, resource utilization, and research evolution, this study combines a concise review of current knowledge with a bibliometric analysis of English-language publications from 2005 to 2025. The review summarizes current knowledge on reproductive biology, fruit and oil quality, lipid biosynthesis, phytochemical diversity, and processing utilization, while the bibliometric analysis includes 109 eligible publications from the Web of Science Core Collection using Microsoft Excel 2021, bibliometrix 4.5.0, VOSviewer 1.6.20, CiteSpace 7.0.R0, and SCImago Graphica 1.0.51. The review highlights that the resource value of I. polycarpa is determined by the interaction between reproductive characteristics, fruit development, lipid accumulation, phytochemical composition, and processing strategies, while available evidence indicates that molecular findings remain largely associated with developmental regulation and require further functional validation. Publication output rose markedly during 2023–2025 and peaked in 2025. China contributed the most publications, while institutional and author collaboration networks consisted of several relatively distinct groups with limited intergroup links. Reference co-citation and keyword analyses revealed three major bibliometric thematic domains: natural products and biological activities; fruit-oil evaluation and utilization; and genomic, developmental, and reproductive research. Fatty acids and oil-related traits remained persistent topics, whereas recent bursts of “cloning”, “allocation”, and “bisexual flower” indicated growing interest in molecular regulation and reproductive development. Overall, research on I. polycarpa has progressed from resource characterization toward molecular regulation and utilization-oriented studies. Future work should integrate germplasm evaluation, reproductive biology, oil quality, and processing traits through coordinated multidimensional approaches.