香豆素（Coumarin），学名-苯并吡喃酮，可以看做是顺式邻羟基肉桂酸的内酯，它是一大类存在于植物界中的香豆素类化合物的母核。

香豆素为无色或白色结晶或晶体粉末，有类似香草精的愉快香味。存在于零陵香豆、薰衣草油等中。难溶于冷水，能溶于沸水，易溶于甲醇、乙醇、乙醚、氯仿、石油醚、油类。有挥发性，能随水蒸气蒸馏并能升华。

荧光是香豆素一个特有的物理性质，在紫外光下，常显蓝色荧光。通过荧光人们很易辨认出它们的存在。在C-7位引入羟基后，可使荧光加强，即使在可见光下，也能观察到荧光。

Coumarin (/ˈkuːmərɪn/; 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.