In: Biology
What is dicoumarol? What is the role of this substance in the clotting process and what are some examples of its toxicity?
Dicoumarol is a derivative of naturally occurring coumarin. Dicoumarol depletes vitamin K by competitively inhibiting the enzyme Vitamin K epoxide reductase which is responsible for regulating the levels of vitamin K.The depletion of Vitamin K further cause depletion of the clotting proteins as vitamin K acts a co-factor for the enzymes that pos-translationally modify the clotting proteins by carboxylating the glutamic residues of these proteins- these clotting proteins are factors II, VII, IX and X.
Increased dosage leads to toxicity by causing uncontrolled hemorrhage. This is called sweet clover poisoning- this is becuase when the clover is spoiled, coumarol is converted to dicoumarol