To analyze the study advance of Cichorium intybus, a kind of medicinal food, this study systematically retrieved Chinese and English literatures of C.intybus-related studies based on CNKI and the Web of Science database platforms by literature metrological research method and CiteSpace 5.5.R2 software, and visualized the literatures. A total of 1 247 Chinese literatures and 1 488 English literatures were included. Author analysis showed that HAN Yongfen in Guizhou Grass Industry Research Institute and W VAN DEN ENDE in Belgium Catholic University of Leuven had the most publications in Chinese and English C.intybus literatures respectively. ZHANG Bing's team was the core study team of C. intybus in China. Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Belgium Catholic University of Leuven had the largest number of Chinese and English Cichorium literatures. There was a few cooperation between Chinese study institutions and close cooperation between foreign research institutions. Keywords analysis showed that C.intybus studies mainly focused on breeding and growth performance, composition analysis and content determination, nutritional value and medicinal value, in which C.intybus composition and its role in reducing uric acid were the hotspots of current studies. This study found that C.intybus has a high economic value and medicinal value, and its food nutrition and medicinal activity will be the main directions of future studies.
Keywords: Cichorium intybus; economic value; literature metrological analysis; medical value; visual analysis.