Company insight
An exciting time for vitamin K2
Although research indicates there are many health benefi ts to vitamin K2, it is not known as well as other nutrients. Ingredients Insight speaks with Philippe Caillat, global marketing director with Gnosis by Lesaffre, to fi nd out how new research has opened avenues into understanding vitamin K2’s health benefi ts.
A
n almost 20-year commitment to research has shown that MenaQ7 vitamin K2 as MK-7 supports health
through life’s stages. Today, new cardio- related research is expanding its benefits beyond bone and heart health, securing K2’s position as the essential healthy-ageing nutrient for consumers today. Having more than 22 published human clinical trials supporting the safety and efficacy of an ingredient is significant. Few ingredients can boast that level of substantiation (and only one vitamin K2 product, which is MenaQ7), yet many are better-known and more widely used than vitamin K2.
This is strange, considering clinical studies using MenaQ7 have confirmed its support of bone and heart health. Further, it delivers these benefits at microgram doses, increasing the ease of formulating K2 with other nutrients, making it infinitely more versatile.
Gnosis by Lesaffre is passionate about developing solid, science-based solutions, confirming its commitment to the vitamin K2 market when it acquired NattoPharma in 2021. It now offers the most comprehensive K2 solutions platform and will enhance those efforts in the future. “We believe in investing in science to prove what our ingredients deliver, across all the Gnosis by Lesaffre market segments. Still, the NattoPharma acquisition has given us decades of insight into the vitamin K2 clinical validation,” says Philippe Caillat, global marketing director with Gnosis by Lesaffre.
“Guaranteeing quality is a standard we hold in the highest regard. In addition to offering clinically validated materials, we have our European facilities, which we invite our customers to visit,” says Caillat, stressing the importance of transparency.
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cardiovascular health and other areas,” Caillat says.
New cardio-related MenaQ7 research highlights new health benefi ts for Vitamin K2, including decreasing oxidative stress and increasing ATP production.
Taking vitamin K2 forward Beyond proven bone and cardiovascular benefits, 2021 saw an explosion of research linking the K2 mechanism – specifically its activation of matrix Gla protein (MGP) – to other potential health benefits including joint, vision and pulmonary health. What caught the attention of many were recent insights from the Harvard Extension School and Pacific Northwest University linking the cardio-protective mechanism of vitamin K2 to other areas of health, such as delaying the progression of Alzheimer’s. While this is considered early evidence, it is nevertheless an exciting development, beckoning further study.
“The proof continues to build, confirming that vitamin K2 as MK-7 provides safe and effective cardiovascular benefits. This is an argument that we have been making for decades. It is gratifying to see how our research has fed into other universities and institutes examining K2’s potential for
While the brain health developments were not MenaQ7-specific, Gnosis are excited to report that their partners at Maastricht University continue to elucidate the benefits of MenaQ7 K2 supplementation. A poster presented on 25 March 2022 at the second International Electronic Conference on Nutrients detailed recent research showing that MenaQ7 vitamin K2 as MK-7 countered induced oxidative stress in vascular smooth muscle cells, lowering oxidative stress while increasing ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production. After introducing MenaQ7, measurements were taken of cellular viability, such as ATP, oxidative stress and extracellular vesicles (EV). The authors concluded: “Our experiments show that, in primary human smooth muscle cells, MK-7 lowers oxidative stress and EV release and increases ATP production. These results point towards a non-canonical role of MK-7 in the prevention of vascular calcification, unrelated to its [established] role as cofactor for the post-translational modification of MGP.”
These new findings are in line with previous evidence that MenaQ7 decreases oxidative stress, as well as the non- canonical role of K2 inhibiting inflammatory markers. It also enhances the potential of vitamin K2 for healthy ageing, as oxidative stress is involved in several age-related conditions, such as increased cardiovascular risk, chronic kidney conditions and neurodegenerative disorders. Further, evidence showing MenaQ7 increased the production of ATP highlights new opportunities for sports nutrition, showing exciting times ahead for vitamin K2. ●
www.gnosisbylesaffre.com 19
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