MenaQ7 for Cardiovascular, Bone Health

MORRISTOWN, N.J.Natural vitamin K2 (as MenaQ7, PL Thomas & Co./NattoPharma) stood out as superior to K1 in four human clinical trials that demonstrated significant potential benefits for bone health and cardiovascular health, and was further shown to block progress of calcium accumulation in a rat trial. MenaQ7 Natural Vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7 (MK-7) was superior to K1 in humans in several measurements, including markers of bone turnover, bioavailability and bioactivity in the body (Blood, ePub ahead of print, Dec. 7, 2006; DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-08-040709). Serum vitamin K species were used as a marker for absorption, and osteocalcin carboxylation as a marker for activity. Scientists at the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CARIM) and VitaK, Maastricht University, The Netherlands, also demonstrated a reversal of induced arterial calcification in an animal model (Blood, ePub ahead of print, Dec. 3, 2006; DOI: 10.1182/blood-2006-08-040709). They cited the major difference between the vitamin K species as the very long half-life of Mk-7, which results in much more stable blood levels and seven- to eight-times greater accumulation of Mk-7 in the blood. Mk-7 also more effectively promoted and activated markers of bone building and showed a marked advantage against vitamin K antagonists. According to the lead author, Leon J. Schurgers, Ph.D.: This is the first human study using natural vitamin K2 as a dietary supplement. The medical community used to believe that calcification passively occurred in the end stages of cardiovascular disease. However, in the last 10 years we have learned that vitamin K-dependent proteins are directly involved in the inhibition of vascular calcification, and that vitamin K2 is necessary to activate these proteins. This study demonstrates a significant potential role for vitamin K2 in cardiovascular health.