The state and trends of cinnamaldehyde research over the past three decades: a bibliometric and visualized analysis

Abstract Objectives As an aromatic aldehyde, Cinnamaldehyde (CAL) is the representative bioactive component of cinnamon, possessing extensive applications in the fields of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, and feed. The objective of the present study is to elucidate the state and trends of CAL research via bibliometric and visualized analysis. Methods Research on CAL was obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection, and knowledge graphs were created employing CiteSpace software. Bibliometric analysis was conducted on 6205 articles published from 1994 to 2023. Key findings The findings indicate a steadily growing trend in the quantity of papers published on CAL. The collaborative network visualization analysis has determined that China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Kumar Venkitanarayanan have the highest number of publications among all countries, institutions, and authors, respectively. According to the keyword and cocited reference analysis, the primary research hotspots and frontiers include pharmacological effect, underlying mechanism, chemical structure modification, encapsulation technology, and delivery system, highlighting the cross-disciplinary characteristic of CAL research. Conclusions This study delineates the research hotspots and trends of CAL. Future research should focus on exploring the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of CAL in more depth, optimizing chemical derivatization methods, and refining stimuli-responsive smart release systems of CAL.