Green extraction of natural products: A bibliometric review of global research trends, technological advances, and environmental implications

Since 2015, the race to extract nature's most valuable compounds has gone green—and it's accelerating faster than ever. A new bibliometric study reveals how supercritical fluids and sound waves are rewriting the rules of natural product science.

The demand for sustainable extraction methods has sparked a quiet revolution in how we obtain the bioactive compounds that power our foods, medicines, and cosmetics. A new bibliometric analysis, covering research from 2004 to February 2025, maps this green transformation by examining 140 Scopus-indexed articles. The findings are clear: after 2015, the field exploded, driven by advances in supercritical fluid extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and enzymatic methods. These techniques promise high yields with a lighter environmental footprint, a key selling point in an era of climate consciousness.

Key Points

• 140 Scopus articles analyzed from 2004 to Feb 2025.
• China, India, Brazil lead; Europe has higher citation impact.
• Challenges: scalability, regulation, and stability of extracts.