The health benefits of vitamin K

Abstract

Vitamin K has important functions within the body, some of which are still being discovered. Research has shown that vitamin K is an anticalcification, anticancer, bone-forming and insulin-sensitising molecule. Recent data indicate that subclinical vitamin K deficiency is not uncommon. Additionally, vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin may cause detrimental side effects, which may partly be blunted through vitamin K supplementation.

Vitamin K plasma levels determination in human health

“…-Regulation of blood coagulation activity -Bone protection; prevention of osteoporosis and bone fracture -Prevention of vascular calcifications -Prevention of cancer -Prevention of inflammation evidence of vitamin K biological actions in bone metabolism and cardiovascular disease, exceeding its better known involvement in the blood coagulation system [59], as reported in Table 3. Several studies suggest that low vitamin K levels are related to osteoporosis, pathological fractures and vascular calcifications.…”

Prevalencia de deficiencia de vitamina K y factores asociados en pacientes con fibrosis quística sin aporte suplementario

“…Además de participar en la coagulación de la sangre, la vitamina K es importante para la mineralización ósea, la regulación de la calcificación vascular, la prevención del cáncer y una mayor sensibilidad a la insulina. 4,[7][8][9][10] Se considera que la deficiencia de vitamina K en los pacientes con fibrosis quística (FQ) es resultado de la hipoabsorción intestinal por insuficiencia pancreática, deficiencia de sales biliares, hepatopatía, resección intestinal, antibioticoterapia e ingesta alimentaria inadecuada. 11,12 La deficiencia de vitamina K predispone a los pacientes con FQ a desarrollar hematomas y hemorragia fácilmente (en especial, en los lactantes), mineralización ósea deficiente y osteoporosis.…”

New Perspectives for the Nutritional Value of Vitamin K in Human Health

“…Each vitamin K molecule can thus be recycled several thousand times with this vitamin K cycle, which is the reason why minute vitamin K amounts are sufficient to cover its daily diet requirements [24]. However, the present dietary reference values for vitamin K (90 µg/day for women and 120 µg/day for men) [10] are based on proper functioning of the blood coagulation factors to maintain normal haemostasis, and not on the γ-carboxylation status of other VKDPs such as matrix Gla protein (MGP), Gla-rich protein (GRP), and osteocalcin (OC), known to be of vital importance in bone and/or vascular health [2][3][4][5][6][7]18,24]. Interestingly, extra-hepatic Gla proteins have been shown to be present as incompletely γ-carboxylated forms in the majority of healthy adults [4,25], and thus the biological activity of these proteins could be considered sub-optimal.…”

“…Vitamin K is an essential micronutrient acting as cofactor for the post-translational modification of vitamin K-dependent proteins (VKDPs), where specific glutamic acid (Glu) residues can be modified to calcium binding γ-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) residues, through the action of γ-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) enzyme [6][7][8]. The use of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) such as warfarin, known to influence the carboxylation of Glu residues of the coagulation factors in liver, has been shown to also impair the γ-carboxylation of extra-hepatic VKDPs, resulting in unwanted pathological side-effects in tissues such as bone and blood vessels [6,7,[9][10][11][12]. Recently, additional functions of vitamin K, such as anti-inflammatory, transcriptional regulator of osteoblastic genes, and inhibition of tumor progression, have been proposed to be mediated by a direct vitamin K effect rather than through VKDPs action [13,14].…”