3-Year MenaQ7® Study Shows Heart, Bone Benefits

OSLO, NorwayDaily supplementation with vitamin K2 (as MenaQ7® from NattoPharma) improved bone strength and protected against cardiovascular aging in a recent study presented by  Cees Vermeer, principal investigator, VitaK laboratory, Maastricht University, at Vitafoods 2012, Geneva.

In the study, 244 healthy postmenopausal women consumed 180 mcg of MenaQ7 or a placebo daily for three years. The clinical measurements included bone mineral density, bone strength, vascular characteristics by ultrasound and pulse-wave velocity (PWV), which evaluates age-related stiffening of blood vessels. 

MenaQ7 supplementation provided a statistically significant protection of the most vulnerable bone structures, i.e., vertebrae and the hip. The researchers also found clinically relevant improvements at the site of the femoral neck after two and three years of regular, daily MenaQ7 supplementation. This finding explains for the first time why shorter studies typically failed to show benefits of vitamin K on bone health and cardiovascular health.

The MenaQ7 trial showed substantial benefits in preventing age-related stiffening of arteries; an increase of the PWV was seen in the MenaQ7 placebo group, but not in the MenaQ7-group. MenaQ7 prevented stiffening and improved vascular elasticity.

Positive effects on bone and vascular health have been previously demonstrated with a pharmacological dose of synthetic forms of vitamin K, of up to 45 milligrams per day. The MenaQ7 study shows the positive health effects with a nutritional dose of vitamin K. "Remarkably, the low-dose MenaQ7 effects were even more pronounced than those in trials using a high dose of one of the synthetic forms of vitamin K," said Frode Bohan,  executive chairman of NattoPharma.

The study is currently being submitted for peer-review publication. NattoPharma reported preliminary findings of this study in January 2012.