A toxic compound found in the tonka bean and related plants, used historically in perfumery and flavorings despite its health risks.
Derived from 'couma' (a variant of tonka) and the chemical suffix -in or -arine used in naming aromatic compounds. The word reflects the plant source combined with chemical nomenclature.
Coumarin (also conamarin) smells deliciously like vanilla and almonds, but it damages livers—which is why the FDA banned it from foods in 1954, even though it still appears in some 'natural' vanilla products!
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