Coumarin 香豆素
Coumarin (; 2H-chromen-2-one) is a fragrant organic chemical compound in the benzopyrone chemical class, which is a colorless crystalline substance in its standard state. It is a natural substance found in many plants.
The name comes from a French term for the tonka bean, coumarou, one of the sources from which coumarin was first isolated as a natural product in 1820. It has a sweet odor, readily recognised as the scent of new-mown hay, and has been used in perfumes since 1882. Sweet woodruff, Meadowsweet, sweet grass and sweet-clover in particular are named for their sweet (i.e., pleasant) smell, which in turn is due to their high coumarin content. When it occurs in high concentrations in forage plants, coumarin is a somewhat bitter-tasting appetite suppressant, and is presumed to be produced by plants as a defense chemical to discourage predation.