Vitamin K, like vitamin A, and vitamins D and E, is one of the vitamins soluble in fat. In their function, they are thereby one of the cofactors in the so-called carboxylation reaction, by which various clotting factors and some factors inhibiting clotting are activated.
Mode of action of vitamin K
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Thus, vitamin K helps regulate blood clotting. Independently, vitamin K also plays a role in the activation of the bone protein osteocalcin and is a not insignificant factor even in photosynthesis.
Vitamin K is divided into different representatives: Vitamin K1, K2 and K3. Vitamin K1 is mainly found in the chloroplasts of all green plants. Vitamin K2, on the other hand, is produced by bacteria in the human intestine, among other places. Vitamin K3, in contrast to the two previously mentioned, is produced synthetically.
It can be supplied to the body as a dietary supplement and thus support the metabolism.
Importance
A major advantage of vitamin K is its heat stability. As a result, it is lost in only very small amounts during preparation. Under the influence of light, however, vitamin K quickly loses its bioavailability. However, this hardly hinders the possibilities of absorbing vitamin K through food. As a result, it can perform its various tasks in the human body without impairment.
These tasks include processes such as blood clotting, bone metabolism and cell growth regulation. In the process of blood clotting, for example, vitamin K is involved in converting some of the clotting factors so that they can become effective in blood clotting at all.
In addition to clotting factors 2, 7, 9 and 10, vitamin K is also involved in the synthesis of proteins C and S in the liver. It is therefore precisely from these numerous tasks in the preparation of blood clotting that the role of vitamin K can certainly be described as serious. It is no different in the regulation of cell growth.
Here, there is a whole series of receptor-ligand systems that are dependent on the participation of vitamin K. These systems, in turn, are involved in cell survival. These systems, in turn, are involved in cell survival, cell metabolism, and cell transformations and also replication.
Occurrence in food
It is therefore essential that vitamin K is found in numerous foods. Among them, it is mainly found in the form of phylloquinone, which is then converted accordingly in human metabolism. The good thing is that vitamin K is also transferred from the mother to her child during pregnancy.
After birth, it is supplied through the mother’s milk. This means that the daily requirement of vitamin K is covered from the very beginning. The average requirement is at least 80 micrograms for men and at least 65 micrograms for women. In comparison, children need only 10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight for the clotting factor to be activated in their liver.
All the other functions of vitamin K are not started with this, however. If the body is not supplied with sufficient vitamin K, serious deficiency symptoms may well occur. Infants, for example, can suffer brain hemorrhages due to the deficiency. But an oversupply can also lead to serious bleeding, even in adults. Therefore, the intake of vitamin K should not fall below the daily level, but should also not be significantly too high.
