Benzoxazole is an aromatic organic compound with a molecular formula of C7H5NO, a benzoxazole ring structure, and an odor similar to pyridine. Although benzoxazole itself has little practical value, many benzoxazole derivatives are commercially important. As heterocyclic compounds, benzoxazoles are used in research as starting materials for the synthesis of larger, often biologically active structures. Its aromaticity makes it relatively stable, although as a heterocycle it has an active site that enables it to be functionalized.
Coumarin occurs naturally in a variety of plants, such as lentils, sweet sawdust, vanilla grass, and sweet grass. Coumarin has a simple structure, benzopyrone, associated with different reaction centers. Coumarins are further subdivided into different classes: simple coumarins, pyranocoumarins, furanocoumarins, dicoumarins and isocoumarins. Coumarin derivatives are an important class of natural plant metabolites with various biological activities. They can also be synthesized artificially, and various synthetic coumarin derivatives (azoles, sulfonyls, furans, pyrazoles, etc.) have shown good anticancer, antitumor and antiproliferative activities. Coumarin derivatives are not only effective anticancer agents, but also possess minimum side effects. Based on different substitution patterns, these potential active substances show a great ability to modulate potential anticancer activities.