LAUSR

Abstract Background Non-centrifugal sugar cane (NCS) is currently considered a marginal natural sweetener. The nutritional and functional compound found in NCS allows it to be considered a superfood. Research on this product has been evolving from the improvement of sugar cane varieties and their energy efficiency process assessment. In this decade, the research topics have focused on NCS as a bioactive ingredient for the food, nutraceutical, and medicinal industries. However, no comprehensive analysis of research trends has been carried out. Scope and approach The aim of this research was to analyze the leading research, development, and innovation thematic lines, topics, and trends, using scientometrics, bibliometrics, and scientific landscape methods. These tools allowed the identification of networks of researchers, strategic publications, research networks of countries, trend clusters, and key performance indicators. Key findings and conclusions A comprehensive construction of research evolution on NCS in the last two decades was carried out; a keyword co-occurrence network, a thematic map, and a multicriteria analysis map were synthetized. Further, four future trend lines were constructed. Finally, the methodology applied contributed to building a broader and more specific “big picture” of NCS research for future project focalization. The results confirmed the interest in NCS as a source on bioactive compounds that could lead to promoting the research lines proposed in this article.