Furanocoumarins

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A class of plant-derived chemical compounds that contain a furan ring fused to a coumarin structure and trigger skin reactions when exposed to sunlight
2. Naturally occurring molecules in certain plants that combine furan and coumarin structures and produce phototoxic effects on skin following UV exposure
3. Organic substances present in plants with a fused furan-coumarin framework that induce skin sensitivity and burning reactions when the affected area is exposed to light

Etymology: Furanocoumarins take their name from two chemistry terms, and the first half goes back to bran. Furfural, a compound first obtained from bran, takes its name from Latin "furfur," meaning bran. The five-membered ring structure in it was called "furan," and "furano-" is the prefix chemists use when a furan ring is fused onto another ring. The second half comes from a South American plant. "Coumarin" derives from French "coumarou," which was borrowed from a South American language for the tonka bean, the seed that first yielded the compound. Coumarin is a benzene ring fused to a pyrone ring. These compounds add a furan ring onto that coumarin core, so the ending names the base structure and the prefix names the extra ring.

Synonyms: psoralens