Dicoumarol is an oral anticoagulant agent prescribed in clinical for decades. It is a natural hydroxycoumarin discovered from the spoilage of Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall and is originally discovered as a rodenticide. Due to its structural similarity to that of vitamin K, it significantly inhibits vitamin K epoxide reductase and acts as a vitamin K antagonist.
Dicoumarol is mainly used as an anticoagulant to prevent thrombogenesis and to cure vascular thrombosis. Other biological activities besides anticoagulants such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, etc., have also been documented. The side effects of
dicoumarol raise safety concerns for clinical application. In this
review, the physicochemical property, the pharmacological activities, the side effects, and the pharmacokinetics of
dicoumarol were summarized, aiming to provide a whole picture of the \"old\" anticoagulant.