Introduction of Coumarin

The importance of Coumarin as anticoagulant dicoumarol by a number of species of fungi. This occurs as the result of the production of 4-hydroxycoumarin then further (in the presence of naturally occurring formaldehyde) into the actual anticoagulant dicoumarol a fermentation product and mycotoxin. Dicoumarol was responsible for the bleeding disease known historically as sweet clover disease in cattle eating moldy sweet clover silage.In basic research preliminary evidence exists for coumarin having various biological activities including anti-inflammatory anti-tumor antibacterial and antifungal properties among others.