A Decade of Research on Amanita phalloides Poisoning: Global Trends, Research Productivity, and Emerging Perspectives
Background: Amanita phalloides poisoning is one of the most clinically significant forms of mushroom intoxication because of its potential to cause severe hepatotoxicity, acute liver failure, and death. Despite continued scientific interest in its toxicology, diagnosis, and treatment, the structure and evolution of the global literature on A. phalloides have not been fully characterized. This study aimed to evaluate publication trends, leading contributors, geographical distribution, and major research characteristics of the literature on A. phalloides.
Methods: A bibliometric analysis was performed using publications indexed in the Scopus database. The search strategy was based on the terms “amanita” and “phalloides” within titles, abstracts, and keywords and covered publications from 2015 through 2026. The search identified 246 documents. Bibliometric parameters included annual publication output, document type, subject area, productive authors, institutions, countries, and funding organizations. Descriptive bibliometric indicators were used to characterize the development and geographical distribution of the research field.
Results: A total of 246 Scopus-indexed documents were identified. Publication activity fluctuated throughout the study period, with 27 publications in 2024 and 26 in 2025, indicating substantial recent scientific activity. Original articles constituted 74.4% of the literature, followed by reviews (15.9%) and book chapters (4.1%). Medicine was the leading subject area (30.3%), followed by pharmacology/toxicology-related research (17.0%) and environmental sciences (9.3%). Carvalho F., Kaya E., Arici M.A., Costa V.M., and Garcia J. were among the prominent authors. Universidade do Porto and Düzce University were among the leading institutions. The United States showed the greatest publication activity, followed by China and Türkiye, demonstrating contributions from geographically diverse research communities.
Conclusion: Research on A. phalloides has maintained substantial international activity over the past decade, with particularly strong contributions from the United States, China, and Türkiye. The predominance of original articles and substantial representation of medicine and pharmacology/toxicology demonstrate the clinical and toxicological importance of this field. Future bibliometric studies incorporating citation, keyword co-occurrence, co-authorship, and international collaboration network analyses may further identify influential publications, evolving research themes, and knowledge gaps in A. phalloides poisoning.
Keywords: Amanita phalloides; mushroom poisoning; amatoxin; hepatotoxicity; bibliometric analysis; Scopus; toxicology.
