Boswellia serrata, as a traditional Chinese medicinal herb with significant therapeutic effects, contains boswellic acids, which are the main active components responsible for its pharmacological activity [30]. In recent years, the anti-cancer properties of boswellic acids have received increasing attention from researchers. Boswellic acids, derived from Boswellia serrata, have shown promising anticancer potential in clinical oncology through their anti-inflammatory, apoptotic, and anti-metastatic properties. Studies suggest that boswellic acids inhibit key molecular pathways involved in cancer progression, including NF-κB and MAPK signaling. They also enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy and reduce the side effects of conventional treatments. Recent clinical trials indicate that boswellic acids may complement cancer therapies by targeting multiple aspects of tumor growth and metastasis. This highlights their translational potential in providing a novel, adjunctive treatment strategy in oncology [21, 29, 31]. In this study, we found that the annual publication rate exhibited a zigzag upward trend over the past three decades in the relationship between boswellic acid and cancer. From 1994 to 2004, There were just a few studies (No more than 20 articles in total) on boswellic acid. This suggests a limited research foundation during that period. From 2005 to 2014, the number of papers published in the second phase has risen in waves, averaging about 10.4 per year, suggesting the beginning of this field’s research. However, starting from 2015, there was a noticeable increase in publications, with an average of about 21 papers produced annually, indicating a substantial growth and an explosive period of research on boswellic acid in cancer over the past ten years. Furthermore, active international cooperation between different countries is evident in this research field. For instance, China collaborates closely with the USA, Canada, and Germany, while the United States actively cooperates with India, Oman, Germany, and South Korea. In the field of boswellic acid anti-cancer, Germany has more international cooperation. This collaborative effort has contributed to the increasing attention and interest from scholars in the field, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between boswellic acid and cancer on a global scale.

The data highlights the dominant role of India, China, USA, and Germany in publishing research on the relationship between boswellic acid and cancer. The publication of these countries together accounte for 85.8% of all published papers. By analyzing the countries of the corresponding authors, we found that China has the highest number of corresponding authors, as well as the highest number of corresponding authors per individual. Germany, on the other hand, has the highest number of corresponding authors with multiple affiliations. These data suggest that China collaborates less with other countries, while German authors tend to have closer collaboration with other nations. Furthermore, two out of the top ten universities are located in Germany (Table 1), indicating that, compared to other countries such as China, India, and the United States, German institutions place a strong emphasis on boswellic acid anticancer research. This has further facilitated close collaboration between Germany and other countries, leading to a significantly higher proportion of multiple corresponding authors compared to other nations. While some countries have established collaborative relationships, such as Germany, China and USA, there remains room for improvement in inter-agency cooperation. Countries like India and China, which have published the most papers in this field, should have more cooperation and exchanges in order to further promote the vigorous development of this field. So, strengthening collaboration across institutions and countries is crucial for advancing research on boswellic acid in cancer. By fostering extensive cooperation and exchanges, research institutions can collectively drive progress in this field.

The prominence of European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in publishing research on the relationship between boswellic acid and cancer signifies its leading position in this field. Additionally, the co-cited journals predominantly include high-impact Q1 journals like Cancer Research, underscoring their importance in supporting research in this area. A total of 1,653 authors have participated in research on boswellic acid and cancer. However, only 87 authors have collaborative interactions, indicating that research in this field is still relatively scattered, with limited cooperation and communication among authors. Three authors have published more than ten papers each, with Al-Harrasi Ahmed, Csuk Rene, Taneja Subhash C, and Aggarwal Bharat B ranking among the top ten. Five authors out of the 12,034 co-cited authors received more than 80 citations (Table 3). Jian-Jun Liu (n = 223) was the most frequently cited author, followed by Hasan Safayhi (n = 200), Tatiana Syrovets (n = 171), Hermann P.T. Ammon (n = 166), and Inder Gupta (n = 107). Co-cited literature formed the foundation of a research field, representing influential works that are widely recognized and referenced by scholars. Analyzing these co-citations provided valuable insights into key studies, emerging trends, significant contributors, and the knowledge networks within the academic community, offering a deeper understanding of the field’s development and interconnections [32]. In this bibliometric study, we explored the research foundation of chemotherapy and autophagy in lung cancer by identifying the ten most highly cited publications. The study by T. Glaser et al. (1999) stood out as the most frequently co-cited reference, offering a comprehensive analysis of Boswellic acids in the context of malignant glioma, specifically their role in inducing apoptosis without altering drug sensitivity [10]. References with citation bursts highlight emerging topics within a specific field, as they have experienced a surge in citations in recent years. This reflects a growing trend or an area gaining increasing attention from the research community [33]. Identifying references with citation bursts provides valuable insights into emerging topics and potential future research directions. Upon analyzing the main research content of the cited references (Table 5), we found that the biological role and pathogenesis of boswellic acid in cancer were recurring themes across various tumor types. In addition to references with citation bursts, keywords are also crucial for mapping the distribution and evolution of research hotspots related to boswellic acid in cancer. Excluding key words like boswellic acid and cancer, Table 6 primarily included apoptosis and acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA). These key words just confirm that AKBA, one of the boswelic acids, has garnered significant attention for its anti-tumor effects in recent years [30, 34]. Studies have shown that AKBA exhibits multiple anti-tumor mechanisms, particularly in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and promoting apoptosis. Research has found that AKBA inhibits the proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells by modulating the PTEN/Akt/COX-2 signaling pathway, while also promoting apoptosis [35]. In pancreatic cancer, AKBA inhibits the invasion of cancer cells by downregulating the expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 [36]. A study by Li et al. showed that AKBA normalizes the abnormal metabolism of glioma cells and inhibits autophagy, revealing its anti-tumor effect in glioma [37]. In preliminary studies, our research team found that AKBA upregulates the expression of p21 mRNA in NSCLC cell lines, thereby inhibiting cell proliferation. By blocking the cell cycle, inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting autophagy, AKBA demonstrates anti-tumor effects on NSCLC [38]. Additionally, this study also revealed, for the first time, that AKBA sensitizes NSCLC to cisplatin treatment, providing potential drug combination strategies for clinical therapy. These studies suggest that AKBA, as a key component of boswellic acid, exerts its anti-tumor effects through multiple molecular mechanisms and holds promise as a potential anti-tumor agent [39]. Therefore, further exploration of the anti-tumor mechanism of AKBA and the mechanism of its combination with chemotherapy drugs, targeted drugs, or immune drugs to further improve the therapeutic effect of cancer patients is of important milestone significance for promoting the clinical application of effective active ingredients of natural medicinal plants.

This study offers several notable advantages. Firstly, it represents the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the relationship between boswellic acid and cancer, providing valuable insights and guidance for researchers interested in this field. Secondly, we employed three leading bibliometric tools—including VOSviewer and CiteSpace—which are widely recognized and validated in bibliometric research, enhancing the robustness of our analysis [40]. This approach enhances the objectivity and reliability of our data analysis, ensuring that our findings accurately reflect the research landscape surrounding boswellic acid in cancer. Furthermore, bibliometric analysis provides a more comprehensive understanding of research hotspots and emerging frontiers compared to traditional review methods. However, this study has several limitations that should be noted. Firstly, the data were solely sourced from the WoSCC database, which may exclude relevant studies from other sources such as Google Scholar and Scopus. Secondly, our inclusion criteria focused exclusively on English-language publications, potentially underestimating the contributions of non-English research. Especially in Chinese, because the number of publications in China is particularly large, and there are many studies in domestic journals that are not included in the analysis. In addition, it is worth noting that publications after November 16, 2024, were not included in the analysis due to insufficient data availability.