Medicinal plant research in Sri Lanka : A scientometric study based on Scopus database

The ayurveda system of medicine in Sri Lanka use medicinal plants for different ayurvedic medicinal preparations. The study of medicinal plants therefore has become a popular research area in the country. The Scopus database was used to study the research work conducted on medicinal plants by Sri Lankan scientists. The search results were analyzed according to the different types of studies, endemism of plants, biological activities shown by different plants, foreign collaborations, and publications by different institutions in Sri Lanka, titles of journals where a significant number of publications appeared and the publication output in different years. The study shows that the activity related studies are more popular than the general physico chemical studies. Universities have published higher number of publications than the research institutes and other institutes. The highest number of publications are published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Publications from the year 1976 were found in Scopus database and the numbers increase with time. The highest number of publications was in 2012. A systematic scientific study is needed in this area.