A Bibliometric Analysis of Tea and Bone from 1989 to 2023

Background: An increasing body of research has demonstrated a close association between the timing, type, and quantity of tea consumption and bone metabolism and skeletal health. However, to date, there has been a scarcity of systematic literature reviews and quantitative analyses in this field. This project aims to employ a bibliometric approach to systematically analyze and summarize the research on tea and bone health from 1989 to 2023. By visualizing the research hotspots and trends, we seek to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current status of research in this area. Methods: Relevant research articles were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). The collected articles were then subjected to statistical and visualization analyses using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. Key aspects analyzed included the annual publication output, active countries, prolific institutions, authors, core journals, references, and keywords. Results: In total, 932 articles were selected from the WOSCC database, showing an increasing trend in annual publication output. The highest number of publications originated from China (240 articles, accounting for 25.75%), followed by the USA (196 articles, accounting for 21.03%) and Japan (105 articles, accounting for 11.27%). Among institutions, Texas Tech University emerged as the most prolific in terms of productivity, while author Shen, Chwan-Li contributed the highest number of publications (27 articles). The research hotspots in the field of tea and bone studies were identified as osteogenic differentiation, inflammation, and mesenchymal stem cells. Conclusions: The field of tea and bone research is experiencing a vibrant expansion, with ongoing investigations focusing on the intricate connections between tea and inflammation, as well as the mechanisms underlying tea’s impact on bone cell differentiation. However, further exploration is warranted to elucidate and delve deeper into these mechanisms in order to enhance our comprehension in this area.