Bischofia javanica as a functional food source: Integrated DNA barcoding and metabolomics reveal multi-target regulation of anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and osteogenic activities

Bischofia javanica leaves are traditionally consumed as a vegetable and used for inflammatory and bone-related conditions. However, their bioactive compounds remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to identify bioactive phenolic compounds and evaluate their functional potential. Plant identity was confirmed by DNA barcoding. Chemical profiling and quantification using UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS with GNPS-assisted annotation identified major phenolics, including methyl gallate, corilagin, geraniin, gallic acid, ellagic acid, and vitexin, and reported the first detection of 4-hydroxybenzoic and salicylic acids in B. javanica . In vitro biological assays demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory and bone-related activities, where methyl gallate showed 77.82% NF-κB inhibition and 71.03% TRAP inhibition. Corilagin showed 65.07% NF-κB inhibition and 48.06% ALP stimulation, while geraniin showed 49.85% NF-κB inhibition and 63.64% ALP stimulation. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations confirmed stable binding of active compounds to target proteins. These findings provide scientific support for the traditional use of B. javanica leaves and suggest they may represent a promising source of phenolic compounds with in vitro anti-inflammatory and bone-related bioactivities. However, the present findings are based on in vitro and computational approaches, and further studies involving food-grade extraction, bioaccessibility, bioavailability, safety, and in vivo studies are required to validate these findings and assess their potential as functional food or nutraceutical ingredients.