A bibliometric review of functional ingredients and their efficacy in developing functional biscuits [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

Introduction Recent studies have found that functional biscuits are becoming increasingly popular as a convenient and nutritious food option. Numerous studies have concluded that the functional ingredients which impart functional properties to biscuits are beneficial for human consumption and can be incorporated into functional biscuits. However, there is a lack of information on essential functional ingredients that can be used to develop functional biscuits. This bibliometric study addresses this gap by identifying the current research trends in functional ingredients to develop functional biscuits. Objective To investigate current research trends on functional ingredients and their effectiveness in developing functional biscuits. Method The study followed the "Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews" standards for retrieving literature. The study went through three major stages, "assembling", "arranging", and "assessing" to retrieve 612 articles from the Scopus database from 2013 to 2023. Through further filtering, 395 articles were selected. Result The analysis was conducted using R Studio and VOS viewer. The performance analysis and science mapping tools were used to evaluate the articles. The results showed a 5.76% annual growth in publication trends. The most researched functional ingredients were antioxidants, bioactive compounds, and dietary fiber. The review summarized the most studied foods to develop functional biscuits and highlighted the most experimented technological advancements. Conclusion The study revealed an increasing interest in developing functional biscuits and the need for further research to improve their effectiveness and sensory properties. Further, there is a need to determine the impact of technology on extracting functional ingredients from foods, so they can be incorporated into functional biscuits.