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Subfield · Medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine research

Complementary and alternative medicine is a subfield of Medicine. Science Explorer counts 318k research works in it since 1950. 15.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: form of non-scientific healing.

Research works
318k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
49k
per year above
Top-10% rate
15.5%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
20
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+2%
the tick is no change

This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.

What is Complementary and alternative medicine research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Herbal Medicine, Antioxidant, Neuroprotective, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Antioxidant Activity, Integrative Medicine. Gaining share since 2009–13: Immunomodulatory, Ocimum sanctum, Withania somnifera, Bacopa monnieri, Centella asiatica. Losing share: Ayurveda, Syndrome Differentiation, Integrative Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Herbal Medicine20k▼ 0.71×5 topics
  2. Antioxidant17k▲ 2.2×8 topics
  3. Neuroprotective16k▲ 2.6×4 topics
  4. Traditional Chinese Medicine15k▼ 0.40×3 topics
  5. Antioxidant Activity11k▲ 1.96×4 topics
  6. Integrative Medicine11k▼ 0.38×2 topics
  7. Cardiorespiratory Fitness11k▲ 1.63×1 topic
  8. Exercise Capacity11k▲ 1.63×1 topic
  9. Cancer9,056▲ 3.3×4 topics
  10. Alzheimer's Disease8,815▲ 2.5×2 topics
  11. Anti-inflammatory8,548▲ 1.99×6 topics
  12. Immunomodulatory7,439▲ 3.5×2 topics
  13. Cancer Treatment6,903▼ 0.50×2 topics
  14. Alternative Medicine6,853▲ 1.51×1 topic
  15. Complementary Medicine6,853▲ 1.51×1 topic
  16. Bacopa monnieri6,526▲ 3.4×1 topic
  17. Centella asiatica6,526▲ 3.4×1 topic
  18. Pharmacological Effects6,412▼ 0.65×2 topics
  19. Depression6,234▲ 1.18×2 topics
  20. Phytochemistry5,812▼ 0.58×3 topics
  21. Chinese Medicinal Prescription5,783▼ 0.45×1 topic
  22. Healthcare5,783▼ 0.45×1 topic
  23. Hepatoprotective5,630▲ 1.64×4 topics
  24. Ocimum sanctum5,278▲ 3.4×1 topic
  25. Withania somnifera5,278▲ 3.4×1 topic
  26. Acupuncture5,212◆ 1.11×1 topic
  27. Pain Relief5,212◆ 1.11×1 topic
  28. Ayurveda5,013▼ 0.32×1 topic
  29. Syndrome Differentiation5,013▼ 0.32×1 topic
  30. Flavonoids4,422▲ 1.40×2 topics
  31. Anticancer4,242▲ 2.0×3 topics
  32. Cardiovascular Disease4,214▼ 0.49×1 topic
  33. Quality Control4,214▼ 0.49×1 topic
  34. Pharmacokinetics3,149▲ 1.57×2 topics
  35. Phytochemicals2,890▲ 1.63×2 topics
  36. Medicinal Properties2,880▲ 1.66×2 topics
  37. Dementia2,289▲ 1.39×1 topic
  38. Ginkgo Biloba2,289▲ 1.39×1 topic
  39. Dihydromyricetin2,198▲ 1.77×1 topic
  40. Stinging Nettle2,198▲ 1.77×1 topic

Which countries lead Complementary and alternative medicine research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, India and the United States rank highest in Complementary and alternative medicine. By volume, China and India publish the most (19k and 10k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 19.1% top 10% · 19k works
  2. 2 India · #4 all time 9.5% top 10% · 10k works
  3. 3 United States · #1 all time 14.4% top 10% · 5k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom · #3 all time 19.1% top 10% · 1.1k works
  5. 5 Poland · #19 all time 24.7% top 10% · 619 works
  6. 6 South Korea · #9 all time 17.8% top 10% · 1.5k works
  7. 7 Iran · #10 all time 18.7% top 10% · 1.2k works
  8. 8 Saudi Arabia · #17 all time 30.2% top 10% · 611 works
  9. 9 Spain · #12 all time 21.5% top 10% · 696 works
  10. 10 Italy · #8 all time 25.6% top 10% · 733 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 36 countries ranked in Complementary and alternative medicine. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Complementary and alternative medicine

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 19k works
  2. 2 India 10k works
  3. 3 United States 5k works
  4. 4 Indonesia 2.4k works
  5. 5 Brazil 1.8k works
  6. 6 South Korea 1.5k works
  7. 7 Türkiye 1.3k works
  8. 8 Iran 1.2k works
  9. 9 Japan 1.1k works
  10. 10 United Kingdom 1.1k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 42.7%India: 23.1%United States: 11.1%Indonesia: 5.4%6 others listed: 17.6%43%largest
China19k · 42.7%India10k · 23.1%United States4,990 · 11.1%Indonesia2,436 · 5.4%6 others listed7,887 · 17.6%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Complementary and alternative medicine research?

Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (China) ranks first in Complementary and alternative medicine on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine China · Chengdu · #5 all time 32.1% top 10% · 301 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College China · Beijing · #1 all time 19.9% top 10% · 438 works
  3. 3 Beijing University of Chinese Medicine China · Beijing · #4 all time 21.8% top 10% · 389 works
  4. 4 Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine China · Shanghai · #6 all time 25.8% top 10% · 259 works
  5. 5 Zhejiang Chinese Medical University China · Hangzhou · #13 all time 30.6% top 10% · 190 works
  6. 6 Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine China · Tianjin · #7 all time 29.3% top 10% · 191 works
  7. 7 Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine China · Nanjing · #12 all time 23.3% top 10% · 251 works
  8. 8 Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine China · Guangzhou · #28 all time 27.4% top 10% · 208 works
  9. 9 Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine China · Jinan · #58 all time 25.9% top 10% · 168 works
  10. 10 Saveetha University India · Chennai 21.6% top 10% · 152 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 74 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Complementary and alternative medicine.

Top 100 Complementary and alternative medicine institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical CollegeChina 438 works
  2. 2 Beijing University of Chinese MedicineChina 389 works
  3. 3 National Institute of AyurvedaIndia 358 works
  4. 4 Shaanxi University of Chinese MedicineChina 352 works
  5. 5 Desh Bhagat Ayurvedic College and HospitalIndia 330 works
  6. 6 Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Ayurveda CollegeIndia 306 works
  7. 7 Government Ayurvedic College and HospitalIndia 306 works
  8. 8 Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChina 301 works
  9. 9 Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChina 259 works
  10. 10 Government Ayurved College, NandedIndia 255 works

Who are the leading researchers in Complementary and alternative medicine?

Among the most productive authors in Complementary and alternative medicine, Cyrus Cooper, Susanne Hempel and Massimo Piepoli rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Cyrus Cooper United Kingdom · #144 worldwide 7.2k citations · 486 works
  2. 2 Susanne Hempel United States · #170 worldwide 4.8k citations · 116 works
  3. 3 Massimo Piepoli Italy · #184 worldwide 3.2k citations · 129 works
  4. 4 Bharat B. Aggarwal United States · #202 worldwide 4.2k citations · 117 works
  5. 5 Piotr Ponikowski Poland · #225 worldwide 4.1k citations · 218 works
  6. 6 Nicholas J. Wareham United Kingdom · #615 worldwide 4k citations · 216 works
  7. 7 Andrew J.S. Coats Germany · #1,017 worldwide 2.2k citations · 148 works
  8. 8 David Löwenthal United States · #1,064 worldwide 1.1k citations · 111 works
  9. 9 Eva Prescott Denmark · #1,112 worldwide 2.8k citations · 92 works
  10. 10 Bernard Chaitman United States · #1,204 worldwide 2.2k citations · 100 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 4,110 highest-output authors in Complementary and alternative medicine. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Complementary and alternative medicine researchers

Where is Complementary and alternative medicine research done?

The largest centres of Complementary and alternative medicine research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Guangzhou (China) and Chengdu (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Siddāpur, Hassan and Amloh.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 3k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 1.1k works
  3. 3 Guangzhou China 1k works
  4. 4 Chengdu China 832 works
  5. 5 New Delhi India 817 works
  6. 6 Nanjing China 772 works
  7. 7 Hangzhou China 676 works
  8. 8 Chennai India 603 works
  9. 9 Wuhan China 572 works
  10. 10 Seoul South Korea 564 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. SiddāpurIN · 68.1 works118×
  2. HassanIN · 130.1 works80×
  3. AmlohIN · 337.7 works70×
  4. JamnagarIN · 90.3 works41×
  5. MalappuramIN · 333.2 works41×
  6. NadiādIN · 95.9 works36×
  7. MoganshanCN · 41.9 works35×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Complementary and alternative medicine than the world average.

See Complementary and alternative medicine on the map

Complementary and alternative medicine research by country

The best places for Complementary and alternative medicine research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Complementary and alternative medicine?

Among universities, judged by research, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Institute of Ayurveda and Zhejiang Chinese Medical University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 19.23%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine: 301, 32.1%National Institute of Ayurveda: 358, 2.3%Zhejiang Chinese Medical University: 190, 30.6%Beijing University of Chinese Medicine: 389, 21.8%Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Ayurveda College: 306, 1.3%Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine: 259, 25.8%Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine: 191, 29.3%Hebei University of Chinese Medicine: 46, 21.1%Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine: 208, 27.4%Government Ayurved College, Nanded: 255, 0.6%Chengdu University o…Zhejiang Chinese Med…Beijing University o…National Institute o…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChina 62.832.1%23.0×301 -62.5%
2 National Institute of AyurvedaIndia 59.12.3%107.6×358 +181.9%
3 Zhejiang Chinese Medical UniversityChina 58.830.6%12.6×190 -56.1%
4 Beijing University of Chinese MedicineChina 58.521.8%37.8×389 -47.0%
5 Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier Ayurveda CollegeIndia 58.51.3%110.0×306 +379.4%
6 Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChina 58.125.8%22.5×259 -70.9%
7 Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese MedicineChina 58.029.3%32.5×191 -50.9%
8 Hebei University of Chinese MedicineChina 58.021.1%26.4×46 +247.3%
9 Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineChina 57.827.4%19.0×208 -57.4%
10 Government Ayurved College, NandedIndia 57.00.6%91.9×255 +354.6%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Complementary and alternative medicine research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Nigella sativa pharmacological applications, Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants and Mangiferin and Mango Extracts.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Nigella sativa pharmacological applications+354%
  2. Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants+302%
  3. Mangiferin and Mango Extracts+260%
  4. Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection+251%
  5. Papaya Research and Applications+222%
  6. Medicinal Plant Studies+160%
  7. Traditional Chinese Medicine Analysis-31%
  8. Traditional Chinese Medicine Studies-43%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Complementary and alternative medicine include?

Cardiovascular and exercise physiology: 53k fractional worksTraditional Chinese Medicine Studies: 43k fractional worksMedical Research and Tre…39kMedical Research and Treatments: 39k fractional worksComplementary and Altern…30kComplementary and Alternative Medicine Studies: 30k fractional worksTraditional Chinese Medicine Analysis: 28k fractional worksAcupuncture Treatment Research Studies: 23k fractional worksMedicinal Plants and Neu…18kMedicinal Plants and Neuroprotection: 18k fractional worksPhytochemicals and Medicinal Plants: 15k fractional worksGinkgo biloba and Cashew Applications: 9,909 fractional worksHerbal Medicine Research Studies: 9,716 fractional worksMedicinal plant effects and applications: 9,124 fractional worksPhytochemical and Pharmacological Studies: 7,813 fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.