Introduction
Vitamin-K is a fat soluble micronutrient that comes in two natural forms:
- Vit-K1 Phylloquinone (common in plants)
- Vit-K2 Menaquinone (common in fermented foods and animals)
Calcium Enzyme Activation
The core mechanism of Vit-K's activities involves the modification of glutamate amino acids to be able to bind Calcium by adding a COO⁻ group in proteins.
This enables calcium enzymes that support body functions across Bones, Blood Vessels, Neurones and the Immune system.
Bone Formation
The osteoblast cell plays a pivotal role in building and maintaining bones. They produce the osteocalcin protein, which needs Vit-K to activate it's Calcium binding domain.
Osteocalcin plays a role in aligning the structure of calcium and phosphate crystals in the bone for strong and proper formation.
Blood Vessel Elasticity
Matrix Gla Protein is the body's natural defense against vascular calcification, a condition that causes blood vessels to harden and loose elasticity.
Matrix Gla Protein needs to be activated by Vit-K to bind Calcium and remove Calcium from the blood vessels.
Blood Clot Function
Following an injury, platelets are recruited to the site by exposed collagen. These display negative phospholipids which attract Calcium ions.
Before an injury, Vit-K has already primed Prothrombin to bind Calcium, which is now recruited to the site of injury by platelets, activated to Thrombin catalyses the formation of Fibrin, used to create a mesh for in blood clots from fibrinogen.