Known Coumarins

Many known coumarins can be identified in plant extracts from their Rf values on paper or thin-layer chromatograms and the characteristic fluorescence of their spots 274, 586). 

Karami, B. Farahi, M. Khodabakhshi, S. Rapid synthesis of novel and known coumarin-3-carboxylic acids using staimous chloride dihydrate under solvent-free conditions. Helv. Chim. Acta 2012, 95, 455-460. 

The isoprene-derived molecule whose structure is shown here is known alternately as Coumarin and warfarin. By the former name, it is a widely prescribed anticoagulant. By the latter name, it is a component of rodent poisons. How can the same chemical species be used for such disparate purposes The key to both uses lies in its ability to act as an antagonist of vitamin K in the body. 

Anisic aldehyde, CgHgOj, is a methyl ether of para-oxy-benzaldehyde, which is found to a small extent in the oils of fennel and aniseed. It is manufactured on an extensive scale artificially, and is the basis of all the perfumes of the hawthorn or May blossom type. It is known commercially as aubepine . A certain amount of anisic aldehyde is obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of coumarin, but the greater- part of it is obtained by very careful oxidation of anethol, the characteristic constituent of aniseed oil, which has the constitution—... 

In addition to effects on biochemical reactions, the inhibitors may influence the permeability of the various cellular membranes and through physical and chemical effects may alter the structure of other subcellular structures such as proteins, nucleic acid, and spindle fibers. Unfortunately, few definite examples can be listed. The action of colchicine and podophyllin in interfering with cell division is well known. The effect of various lactones (coumarin, parasorbic acid, and protoanemonin) on mitotic activity was discussed above. Disturbances to cytoplasmic and vacuolar structure, and the morphology of mitochondria imposed by protoanemonin, were also mentioned. Interference with protein configuration and loss of biological activity was attributed to incorporation of azetidine-2-carboxylic acid into mung bean protein in place of proline. 

Tenerife and La Palma, revealed the existence of luteolin and an array of simple phenolic derivatives as well as three known phytosterols, B-amyrin, sitosterol, and stigmasterol. The phenols identified comprised a set of phenylpropanoids myristicin [566] (see Fig. 6.16 for structures 566-573), methyleugenol [567], todadiol [568], todatriol [569], crocatone [570], elemicin [571], apiole [572], and the coumarin scopoletin [573]. The occurrence of these compounds is recorded in Table 6.5. The differences between the two profiles were taken by Gonzalez and his co-workers... 

It is known that certain coumarins are transformed into 5-(2-hydroxy-phenyl)-3H-pyrazol-3-ones by reaction with hydrazines [10]. Upon appUca-tion of this method, the expected pyrazolones 25 were synthesized starting from 3-nitrocoumarins [11] as known in (Scheme 6). 

Matricaria recutita, known as German chamomile, is also purported to have antispasmodic properties. It is taken most often as a tea up to four times a day. Benzodiazepine, alcohol, and warfarin users should be cautioned against taking this product because it can cause drowsiness, and it contains coumarin derivatives.20... 

The 2,2-dialkylchromenes can easily be obtained from the reaction of coumarin 27 with a Grignard reagent.48 This method has been known for a long time and has not been modified much. The parent chromene 28 has been prepared by reduction and dehydration of 4-chromanone.63 Elimin-... 

Coumarins are known to have pronounced bioactivity. A rather new procedure for the synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-c]coumarins uses a domino process in which an amine oxide rearrangement [61] is involved (Scheme 7.37) [62]. Reaction of the cou-... 

Coumarins belong to a group of compounds known as the benzopyrones, all of which consist of a benzene ring joined to a pyrone. They may also be found in nature, in combination with sugars, as glycosides. They can be categorized as simple fura-nocoumarins, pyranocoumarins, and coumarins substituted in the pyrone ring (Murray and others 1982). 

Single-stranded DNA or RNA may adopt hairpin structures in which the distance between two sequences is much shorter than in the absence of hairpin. Figure B9.4.1 shows two synthetic targets, both containing 45 nucleotides, but only the first one is able to form a hairpin via a loop of four thymines. The second one is used as a control. Both contain the complementary sequences for ethidium-13-mer and 11-mer-coumarin separated by the same number of bases. The efficiency of energy transfer from coumarin to ethidium is dose to zero for the control, whereas it is about 25% in the hairpin structure. This value is low but the spatial conformation of this particular three-way junction is only partially known, and the transfer efhdency depends on the relative orientation and/or distance between coumarin and ethidium. 

Coumarin (7.88) is a well-known 6-lactone (six-membered ring) of natural origin found in various preparations such as some tobaccos, alcoholic beverages, and cosmetics. Besides reactions of oxidation, reduction, and conjugation, coumarin is also subject to lactone hydration in vivo and in the presence of microsomes [170-174], The resulting metabolites include ortho-coumaric acid (7.89) formed directly from coumarin, 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid (7.91) formed following reduction of coumarin to dihydrocou-... 

Additives can be consumed at the cathode by incorporation into the deposit and/or by electrochemical reaction at the cathode or anode. Consumption of coumarin in the deposition of nickel from a Watts-type solution has been studied extensively. Thus, in this section we discuss the consumption of coumarin, which is used as a leveler and partial brightener. In a series of papers (33, 36), Rogers and Taylor, described the effects of coumarin on the electrodeposition of nickel. They found that the coumarin concentration decreases linearly with time at —960 mV (versus SCE and 485 to 223 rpm at a rotating-disk electrode, for plating times of 8 to 75 min. A rotating-disk electrode was used to achieve a uniform and known rate of transport of additive to the cathode. Rogers and Taylor found that the rate of coumarin consumption is a function of coumarin bulk concentration. Figure 10.16 shows that the rate of consumption... 

---