Estudio cienciométrico de la producción científica sobre actividad antifúngica para especies vegetales de la familia Ericaceae y Asteraceae

Abstract

Agriculture is a pillar of the Colombian economy and one of its greatest current challenges is the control of phytopathogenic fungi that represent a risk to animals, humans and plants, as well as to the health and to the development of society. The purpose of this research is to develop a scientometric study, and its later analysis, on the scientific production of the antifungal activity of specific plant species in the period from 2010 to 2023; specifically in the species of the Ericaceae and Asteraceae family, which represent a large extension in the Colombian territory and a great importance at industrial level due to the pharmaceutical potential, food and other sectors of the industry. For the analysis, a recompilation, systematization and identification of scientific articles that work on the research corpus "antifungal activity" was carried out, using databases, double-entry matrices and Vosviewer software for a co-occurrence analysis. Under the scientometric indicators, the articles gathered are mostly found in high scope journals such as Natural Products Research, Molecules, Phytochemistry and Life; the areas of scientific production are mainly in Asia and Europe, and the work in America is highlighted for the Asteraceae family, where the most used methodology for the determination of antifungal activity is the diffusion method. For these studies it is common to work with the genus Arbutus for the family Ericaceae and Artemisia for the family Asteraceae, where the most used plant organ is the leaves and the most common fungi belong to the phyla Ascomycota, Candida, Aspergillus and Fusarium. To conclude, the study of antifungal activity is a growing trend that generates a possible research niche, with a multidisciplinary study approach between chemistry and biology.