News Release
For immediate release
February 15, 2007
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Vitamin
K2 supplementation shown to improve hip bone geometry
and bone strength indices in
postmenopausal women
in the journal
Osteoporosis International
PL Thomas & Company (PLT) of
Morristown,
NJ and
Natto Pharma,
Norway today announced new findings for the dietary supplement
MenaQ7 with significant potential benefits for bone health in
postmenopausal women. Vitamin K2 supplementation was shown
completely preserve hip bone strength during the 3-year
intervention period, whereas in the placebo group bone strength
decreased significantly in the study published in the journal
Osteoporosis International.
In the study, scientists at VitaK and the Cardiovascular
Research Institute (CARIM), both at
Maastricht
University, The Netherlands, tested whether high vitamin K2 intake
promoted bone mineral density and bone strength. The
double-blind, placebo controlled design followed 325 apparently
healthy, non-osteoporotic women for three years and tested bone
mineral content, femoral neck width (the most common location
for fracture) and bone mineral density at the beginning and at
the end of each year.
Results showed that supplemental vitamin K2 improved bone
mineral content and femoral neck width, but not bone mineral
density. The researchers concluded that vitamin K2 intake may
contribute to preventing postmenopausal bone loss.
“These findings are quite exciting,” said lead author Leon J.
Schurgers, Ph.D. “Research has shown many indications that
vitamin K contributes to the maintenance of bone strength.
Besides various population-based studies and a number of
clinical intervention trials investigating the effects of
increased vitamin K intake, it has also been reported that
subjects receiving vitamin K antagonists (oral anticoagulant
therapy) have lower bone mineral density and increased fracture
risk. Vitamin K2 has significant potential to benefit bone
health.”
This study was conducted using menatetrenone, synthetic vitamin
K2 as MK-4. According to the authors, It should be realized,
however, that MK-4 has a very short biological half-life time
(1–2 h), which required that it was given three times daily in a
dose of 15 mg per helping. Even at this regimen its short
half-life will result in fluctuating K2 serum levels, which may explain the requirement of a high
dose. At this time no data are available on the efficacy of
MK-4 at lower doses, for instance in the range between 100–500
micrograms per day. A possible alternative to MK-4 might be
using natural menaquinone-7 (MK-7), the
K2
vitamin most abundantly found in the Japanese food natto
(fermented soy beans). MK-7 has probably a comparable effect as
MK-4, but it has a halflife in the circulation of 3 days,
resulting in more constant plasma levels and accumulation in the
blood and various tissues. Therefore, MK-7 is the most logical
choice for use as a low-dose food supplement, because even at
low intake relatively high blood and tissue levels can be
obtained.
Natural Vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7 (Mk-7) has been shown to be
the most absorbed, have the longest plasma half-life time and
greatest bioactivity throughout the whole body of any form of
vitamin K. As a result, and based upon population studies of
vitamin K intake, it is believed that just 45 mcg of
menaquinone-7 (MK-7) daily will provide optimal vitamin K
status.
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PLT
offers the Natural Vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7 (Mk-7) under the
trade name MenaQ7™ in alliance with
Natto Pharma,
Norway.
www.plthomas.com/menaq7.htm
About MenaQ7™
MenaQ7 provides Natural Vitamin K2 as an extract of natto, a
fermented soy food from
Japan. Natto is particularly rich in the highly bio-available
form of vitamin K2 called menaquinone-7 (MK-7). Natural Vitamin
K2 also may provide significant benefit to skeletal and
cardiovascular health due to its roles in calcium utilization
via the promotion of vitamin K-dependant proteins.
About PL Thomas
PL Thomas, a New Jersey-based ingredient supplier, offers fifty
years of innovation in securing reliable, high quality raw
materials for the food/functional food and nutrition industries.
PLT is a one-stop resource for application solutions, current
industry information and technical service, and specializes in
water-soluble gums and clinically-supported botanical extracts.
About Natto Pharma
NattoPharma,
Norway is the exclusive international supplier of MenaQ7 Natural
Vitamin K2 (Mk-7) NattoPharma has entered into a multi-year
Research and Development program to substantiate and discover
the health benefits of Natural Vitamin K2 for applications in
the exciting marketplace for functional food and health food
supplements.
For more information, contact Eric Anderson at 973-984-0900, x215 or email
eric@plthomas.com.
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