Herbal Approaches to Dairy Cattle Health Control: A Decade of Scopus Bibliometric Insights (2015-2025)

¹ Doctoral Student in Animal Science, Brawijaya University, Malang 65145, Indonesia
² Faculty of Animal Sciences, Brawijaya University, Malang 65145, Indonesia
³ Faculty of Animal Science, Jenderal Soedirman University, Purwokerto 53121, Indonesia
⁴ Research Scholar, Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, BS405DU, United Kingdom

^* Corresponding author: triekos@ub.ac.id

Abstract

The study conducts a bibliometric analysis of research on herbal approaches to dairy cattle health control published in Scopus-indexed journals from 2015 to 2025. Data were retrieved from the Scopus database and analysed using RStudio with the Bibliometrix package and OpenRefine for data cleaning and harmonisation. The dataset included 661 documents from 243 sources after deduplication and screening processes. The analysis revealed an annual growth rate of 9.53% in publications, indicating increasing academic interest in herbal alternatives for dairy cattle health management. The dominant research themes focused on essential oils, plant extracts, and bioactive compounds, with mastitis treatment emerging as a major health application. Leading authors included Casper DP and Da Silva AS, who had the highest publication counts, while Zhang H, Walkenhorst M, and Sharma AK showed greater citation impact, indicating their influential contributions to the field. Brazil, China, and Italy led in publication output, though collaboration patterns revealed fragmented research networks with limited international integration. The most cited papers demonstrated efficacy in improving milk yield, feed efficiency, and disease control. Research gaps were identified in reproductive health applications, standardised protocols, novel delivery systems, nanotechnology, encapsulation approaches, and long-term impact assessments. The findings support the potential of herbal approaches to address antimicrobial resistance and consumer demand for natural dairy products. Future research should prioritise developing standardised herbal formulations, exploring innovative delivery mechanisms such as nanoparticle systems, and conducting comprehensive long-term studies to establish evidence-based protocols for sustainable dairy cattle health management.