Mention vitamins A to E, and most people will know why they need them and what foods to find them. Not so vitamin K, a comparatively little known vitamin that has been the subject of several recent scientific investigations for its role in bone health and the prevention of blood clots, reports www.nutraingredients.com.

Several ingredient suppliers have started offering vitamin K in recent months, suggesting that they see a market for stepping up its use in dietary supplements - particularly as the baby boom generation enters the age bracket where it starts to become more concerned with age-related health problems, including osteoporosis and health disease.

Their timing may just be good. Just last week a meta-analysis of studies of vitamin K and bone health published in peer reviewed journals found that supplementation is associated with increased bone mineral density (BMD) and reduced incidence of fractures, with an approximate 80% reduction in hip fractures.

In summary, there are two main forms of vitamin K: phylloquinone, also known as phytonadione, (vitamin K1), which is found in green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, broccoli and spinach, and constitutes about 90% of the vitamin K in a typical Western diet; and menaquinones (vitamin K2), which make up about 10% of Western vitamin K consumption and can be synthesised in the gut by microflora.

Both K1 and K2 have been shown to play a role in bone health, influencing the secondary modification of osteocalcin, a protein needed to bind calcium to the bone matrix.

For the complete story, go http://www.nutraingredients.com