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Topic · Analytical Chemistry

Heavy Metals in Plants

Heavy Metals in Plants is a research topic within Analytical Chemistry. Science Explorer counts 15k research works in it since 1951. 13.5% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the analysis of trace elements, heavy metals, and mineral content in medicinal plants and teas, with a particular emphasis on Ilex paraguariensis. It explores the health implications, antioxidant activity, and potential toxic contaminants associated with these elements in herbal medicines and beverages.

  • Trace Elements
  • Medicinal Plants
  • Tea
  • Heavy Metals
  • Mineral Content
  • Antioxidant Activity
  • Ilex paraguariensis
  • Chemical Composition
  • Health Implications
  • Toxic Contaminants
Research works
15k
fractional, since 1951
In the world top 10%
2.1k
per year above
Top-10% rate
13.5%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+32%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Heavy Metals in Plants research?

By volume, China and India publish the most (620 and 383 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 620 works
  2. 2 India 383 works
  3. 3 Brazil 215 works
  4. 4 Nigeria 185 works
  5. 5 Türkiye 179 works
  6. 6 Iran 178 works
  7. 7 Pakistan 134 works
  8. 8 United States 133 works
  9. 9 Iraq 96 works
  10. 10 Poland 95 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: 28.0%India: 17.3%Brazil: 9.7%Nigeria: 8.3%6 others listed: 36.7%28%largest
China620 · 28.0%India383 · 17.3%Brazil215 · 9.7%Nigeria185 · 8.3%6 others listed814 · 36.7%

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

Which institutions lead Heavy Metals in Plants research?

By volume in 2022–2025, King Saud University publishes the most Heavy Metals in Plants research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 King Saud UniversitySaudi Arabia 19 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 13 works
  3. 3 Ministry of Agriculture and Rural AffairsChina 12 works
  4. 4 Salahaddin University-ErbilIraq 12 works
  5. 5 Zhejiang UniversityChina 11 works
  6. 6 Universidade Federal do ParanáBrazil 10 works
  7. 7 Government College University, FaisalabadPakistan 10 works
  8. 8 University of BaghdadIraq 10 works
  9. 9 Hunan Agricultural UniversityChina 10 works
  10. 10 Brazilian Agricultural Research CorporationBrazil 9 works

Who are the leading researchers in Heavy Metals in Plants?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Heavy Metals in Plants include Muhammad Ashraf and Isabel C.F.R. Ferreira.

  1. 1 Muhammad Ashraf Pakistan 2.1k citations
  2. 2 Isabel C.F.R. Ferreira Portugal 1.5k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is Heavy Metals in Plants research done?

The largest centres of Heavy Metals in Plants research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Tehran (Iran), Hangzhou (China) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Erbil and Faisalabad.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 103 works
  2. 2 Tehran Iran 56 works
  3. 3 Hangzhou China 38 works
  4. 4 Nanjing China 32 works
  5. 5 Moscow Russia 30 works
  6. 6 New Delhi India 29 works
  7. 7 Dhaka Bangladesh 29 works
  8. 8 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 28 works
  9. 9 Wuhan China 25 works
  10. 10 Guangzhou China 24 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. ErbilIQ · 20.6 works14×
  2. FaisalabadPK · 22.4 works13×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Heavy Metals in Plants than the world average.

See Heavy Metals in Plants on the map

Where is the best place to study Heavy Metals in Plants?

Among universities, judged by research, Government College University, Faisalabad, King Saud University and Anhui Agricultural 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 21.88%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Government College University, Faisalabad: 10, 40.8%King Saud University: 19, 23.8%Anhui Agricultural University: 8, 43.3%Hunan Agricultural University: 10, 33.9%Sichuan Agricultural University: 8, 31.8%University of Agriculture Faisalabad: 8, 12.4%Salahaddin University-Erbil: 12, 1.8%Universidade Federal do Paraná: 10, 5.2%University of Baghdad: 10, 2.5%Zhejiang University: 11, 23.3%Anhui Agricultural U…Government College U…Hunan Agricultural U…King Saud University
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 Government College University, FaisalabadPakistan 79.940.8%18.9×10 +238.7%
2 King Saud UniversitySaudi Arabia 66.523.8%6.2×19 +60.2%
3 Anhui Agricultural UniversityChina 60.143.3%14.2×8 +24.6%
4 Hunan Agricultural UniversityChina 58.633.9%18.7×10 +50.1%
5 Sichuan Agricultural UniversityChina 47.131.8%8.9×8 -10.8%
6 University of Agriculture FaisalabadPakistan 47.012.4%16.5×8 +39.3%
7 Salahaddin University-ErbilIraq 39.21.8%20.0×12 —
8 Universidade Federal do ParanáBrazil 26.15.2%6.0×10 +6.4%
9 University of BaghdadIraq 25.62.5%4.0×10 +163.0%
10 Zhejiang UniversityChina 25.023.3%1.6×11 -48.3%

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 Heavy Metals in Plants research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 32% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Heavy Metals in Plants.

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.