• Natto and Vitamin K2
• Vitamin K2 and Osteoporosis
• Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
• Warning
• Product: Nattoesse MK-7 with Vitamin K2 and Nattokinase
• Experiments with fermented soybeans (natto) naturally containing vitamin K2
  

Vitamin K is an essential dietary micronutrient that facilitates the synthesis of specific blood coagulation factors and of proteins involved in bone metabolism and vascular biology. Vitamin K, a natural essence of traditional Japanese diet gNattoh is the best solution for bone loss (hip fracture and osteoporosis).

Natto and Vitamin K2

Vitamin K is a group name of K1 (phylloquinone) existing mostly in green vegetables and K2 (menaquinones: MK4 ~14) in fermented food (natto), meat. cheese, liver. Natto, a Japanese fermented soybean food contains considerable amount of Vitamin K2, especially MK-7.

Vitamin K2 and Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis characterized by loss of bone mass is a major health problem, especially in elderly women., It is widely accepted that osteoporosis is a syndrome that may be the result of a combination of numerous risk factors. Among the risk factors for Osteoporosis, nutritional factors are considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis as well as the progression of the condition.

Vitamin K2 may play a role in the prevention of bone loss. Vitamin K2 is essential for the ƒÁ-carboxylation of osteocalcin, a bone matrix protein containingƒÁ -carboxyglutamate (Gla), which is synthesized in osteoblasts in bone tissues. Vitamin K2 is a fat-soluble vitamin, and its intestinal absorption from diet gradually declines with advancing age. Consequently, vitamin K2 deficiency may occur with aging. Supplementation of vitamin K2 may be important as a therapeutic tool for osteoporosis.

Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)

Vitamin K has a key function in the synthesis of at least two proteins involved in calcium and bone metabolism, namely osteocalcin and matrix Gla-protein (MGP). Accumulating data suggest that extra-hepatic tissues such as bone and vessel wall require higher dietary intakes and have a preference for menaquinone (vitamin K2) rather than for phylloquinone (vitamin K1).

Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) value for dietary vitamin K intake is 65 ~ 80ƒĘg/day for American adult and 55 ~ 65 ƒĘg/day for Japanese.

Of vitamin K, menaquinone intake 1) is recommended to take 45ƒĘ g/day, which is comparable to the amount present in 60g of cheese and 4g of natto. In the Nursesf Health Study 2), minimum requirement of vitamin K intake for bone metabolism and osteoporosis is said to be more than 109ƒĘg/day.

Maximum allowance for vitamin K intake is defined 28,000 ~ 30,000 ƒĘg/day in Japan. Acute toxicity in mouse in a mass administration group was not reported any abnormality. LD50 is assumed more than 50 mL/Kg.

1) L. J. Schurgers, et.al. : Zeitschrift fuNr Kardiologie 2001
2) Diane Feskanich et.al: Am J Clin. Nutr. 1999; 69:74-9

Warning

Warfarin and other 4-hydroxycoumarin derivertives are antagonists of vitamin K action and are effective antithrombotic agents (the so-called oral anticoagulants). Vitamin K blocks the conversion of KO (vitamin K-epoxide) into K by inhibiting the enzyme KO reductase. A patient who is treated with Warfarin or other 4-hydroxycoumarin derivertives should refrain from taking the product gNattoesse MK-7h which contains vitamin K.

Note: The product Nattoesse of Nattokinase does NOT contain vitamin K, which is removed in the process of Nattoesse production, so that the patient can take freely.

Product: Nattoesse MK-7 with Vitamin K2 and Nattokinase

Soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis ( natto) naturally living in rice straw are a traditional Japanese diet. This is called gNattoh which has a plenty of nutrients. In 1980fs, a natural enzyme Nattokinase was found in natto to have fibrinolytic activity, and in 1990fs, vitamin K2 was to lower risk of hip fracture and osteoporosis.

Nattoesse(R) is an essence of naturally fermented soybeans ( natto) and has two products;

1. gNattoesse of Nattokinaseh naturally containing nattokinase, isoflavone, saponin, glucoamylase, GABA, protease, and other nutritents without Vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7) content.

2. gNattoesse MK-7h containing Vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7) and nattokinase besides isoflavone, saponin, glucoamylase, GABA, protease, and other nutritents.

Both products gNattoesse of Nattokinaseh and gNattoesse MK- 7h are available in powder bulk.

Experiments with fermented soybeans (natto) naturally containing vitamin K2

1. Intake of fermented soybean( natto) increases circulating vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7 andƒÁ-carboxylated osteocalcin concentration in normal individuals

Eight male volunteers weregiven sequentially fermented soybean ( natto) containing three different contents of MK-7 at an interval of 7 days as follows; Regular natto including 775ƒĘg/100g (MK-7~1) or reinforced natto containing 1298ƒĘg/100g (MK-7~1.5) or 1765ƒĘg/100g (MK-7~2)/ Subsequently, it was found that serum MK-7 andƒÁ-carboxylated osteocalcin concentrations were significantly elevated following the start of dietary intake of MK-7 (1298 or 1765ƒĘg/100g). Serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin concentrations were significantly decreased by dietary MK-7 (1765 ƒĘ g/100g) supplementation. Moreover, the changes in serum MK-7 level with the frequency of dietary natto intake were examined in 134 healthy adults (85 men and 39 women)without and with occasional (a few unit per month), and frequent ( afew times per week) dietary intake of regular natto including MK-7 (775 ƒĘ g/100g). Serum MK-7 and ƒÁ - carboxylated osteocalcin concentrations in men with the with or frequent dietary intakes of natto were significantly higher than those without any intake. The present study suggests that intake of fermented soybean ( natto) increases serum levels of MK-7 andƒÁ- carboxylated osteocalcin in normal individuals. (Y. Tsukamoto et al, Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism (2000) 18:216-222)

2. Japanese Fermented Soybean Food as the Major Determination of the Larger Geographic Difference in Circulating Levels of Vitamin K2: Possible Implication for Hip-Fracture Risk

Increasing evidence indicates a significant role of vitamin K in bone metabolism and osteoporosis. In this study, we found a large geographic difference in serum vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7; MK-7) levels in postmenopausal women. Serum MK-7 concentrations were 5.26 } 6.13 ng/mL in Japanese women (n=49) in Tokyo (eastern Japan), 1.22 } 1.85 in Japanese women (n=25) in Hiroshima (western Japan) and 0.37 } 0.20 in British women (n=31).

We investigated the effect of Japanese fermented soybean food, natto, on serum vitamin K levels. Natto contains a large amount of MK-7 and is eaten frequently in eastern (Tokyo) but seldom in western (Hiroshima) Japan. Serum concentrations of MK-7were significantly higher in frequent natto eaters, and natto intake resulted in a marked, sustained increase in serum MK-7 concentrations. We analyzed the relation between the reginal difference in natto intake and fracture incidence. A statistically significant inverse correlation was found between incident of hip fractures in women and natto consumption in each prefecture throughout Japan. These findings indicate that the large geographic difference in MK-7 levles may be ascribed, at least in part. To natto intake and suggest the possibility that higher MK-7 level resulting from natto consumption may contribute to the relatively lower risk of hip fractures in Japanese women. (Masao Kaneki, MD, Stephen J. Hedges, PhD, et al : Nutrition 17:315-321 2001)