Gustavo Daniel Vega Brítez, Tatiane Fernandes, Bianca Bruna Nascimento Ribeiro, Ana Beatriz dos Santos, Nicolly da Silva Araújo, Rodrigo Andreo Santos, Núbia Michelle Vieira da Silva, Elenice Souza dos Reis Goes, Fernando Miranda de Vargas
The multifunctionality of Moringa oleifera is widely recognized; however, its application in small ruminant production remains limited. This study aimed to analyze research trends, scientific structures, and knowledge gaps related to the use of Moringa oleifera in sheep and goat production through a bibliometric approach. A total of 203 articles published between 2002 and 2025 were retrieved from the Scopus and Web of Science databases and analyzed using VOSviewer (version 1.6.20). Data mining identified contributions from 41 countries, 804 authors, 241 institutional/organization affiliations and 109 journals. Publication output increased markedly after 2020, with India, Egypt, and Mexico leading scientific production. Keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed animal nutrition and productive performance as the main research themes, with recent expansion toward reproductive biology and enteric methane mitigation. A. E. Kholif and G. A. Gouda were the most cited authors. Bibliographic coupling network analysis of journals identified four thematic clusters, indicating disciplinary expansion beyond traditional animal science. Important gaps remain regarding the economic impacts of Moringa oleifera use and the standardization of preparation methods, including plant parts, extraction procedures, solvents, and dosages.