Search Results for: Research
MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 selected by Biolab Farmacêutica, one of Brazil’s largest pharmaceutical cos. Ex-NattoPharma welcomed the opportunity to support the launch of a new product featuring MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 as MK-7, Doiska MenaQ7, for an audience of more than 600 cardiologists in São Paulo, Brazil. “Dois” is “Two” in Portugese, and “ka” signifies “K”. Biolab … Continue reading Product Launch in Brazil
MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 selected by Biolab Farmacêutica, one of Brazil’s largest pharmaceutical cos.
Ex-NattoPharma welcomed the opportunity to support the launch of a new product featuring MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 as MK-7, Doiska MenaQ7, for an audience of more than 600 cardiologists in São Paulo, Brazil. “Dois” is “Two” in Portugese, and “ka” signifies “K”.
Biolab Farmacêutica is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Brazil, and the No. 1 pharmaceutical company for cardiology prescriptions. More than 600 cardiologists attended the event hosted by Biolab, and NattoPharma, world leaders in Vitamin K2 research and development, had representatives on hand to explain the substantial body of science supporting MenaQ7 Vitamin K2 as MK-7, specifically the cardiovascular benefits.
“It was our pleasure to participate in the Brazilian launch of Doiska MenaQ7, and a privilege to present our clinical substantiation to more than 600 engaged cardiologists in São Paulo,” says Dr. Hogne Vik, ex-NattoPharma Chief Medical Officer, who presented alongside respected cardiologist Prof. Dr. Francisco Fonseca.
According to Flavio Zemella, Biolab Marketing Director, the symposium was very successful and physicians are excited about Doiska MenaQ7® arrival in the pharmacies, expected by beginning of August this year. “We are confident the partnership between ex-NattoPharma and Biolab will be very fruitful as we foresee the product will benefit thousands of Brazilians across the country.”
Supporting Mothers for Healthy Babies
Pregnancy is a time of extraordinary change and the WHO estimates 20-30% of pregnant women suffer from some kind of vitamin deficiency. Post-natal supplements are important for many women during this period of their lives to ensure not only their health, but their babies as well.
In particular, pregnant women are advised to increase their calcium levels to support the growing babies’ bone and teeth – and to maintain the mothers own bone mass, which is depleted during pregnancy and nursing.
Research shows that women’s bone metabolic status significantly changes over the period between pregnancy and during nursing [6], and as much as 50% of newborns are K deficient. Incorporating Vitamins K2 with D3 in post-natal supplements would benefit both mother and child through their combined optimization of calcium.
[6] Miyamoto T et al. Sci Rep. 2019 May 13;9(1):6787.
MenaQ7 study show
45 mcg per day of vitamin K2 was shown to support the needs of healthy bones in children
Growing Strong Bones
Childhood is the most essential period for developing and building healthy bone mass.
However, research shows children have 8 to 10 times higher levels of inactive osteocalcin, which means they are not optimally building the bone mass they require during this period.[3]
In turn, today we see an increase in low-energy fractures in children. Thankfully there is a way to mitigate this situation.
Studies show that children who have optimal levels of Vitamins K2 and D3 have fewer bone fractures than children with lower status of these two vitamins. [4,5]
MenaQ7® is the only Vitamin K2 on the market proven to benefit bone health in children.
[3] Theuwissen E et al. Food & Function. 2013;5(2):229-34
[4] Popko J et al. Nutrients. 2018 Jun 6;10(6):734.
[5] Karpiński M et al. J Am Coll Nutr. 2017 Jan;36(1):64-71
Exciting new evidence confirming K2 as MK-7 modulates immune and inflammatory biomarkers. Journal of Medicinal Food has published a new study that successfully tested and confirmed the role of vitamin K2 as MK-7 (menaquinone-7; MenaQ7® provided by ex-NattoPharma) in modulation of the immune and inflammatory biomarkers. The study, “Inhibition of TNF-a, IL-1a, and … Continue reading MenaQ7® K2 Study Validates Inflammation Benefits
Exciting new evidence confirming K2 as MK-7 modulates immune and inflammatory biomarkers.
Journal of Medicinal Food has published a new study that successfully tested and confirmed the role of vitamin K2 as MK-7 (menaquinone-7; MenaQ7® provided by ex-NattoPharma) in modulation of the immune and inflammatory biomarkers.
The study, “Inhibition of TNF-a, IL-1a, and IL-1b by Pretreatment of Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophages with Menaquinone-7 and Cell Activation with TLR Agonists In Vitro,” is significant because it confirms another mechanism by which vitamin K2 supports cardiovascular health by impact markers of inflammation.
“Chronic inflammation is considered an underlying pathology of many diseases that remain poorly understood and treated,” the researchers wrote. “Cardiovascular disease (CVD), a leading cause of mortality in the world, is not only considered as a disorder of lipid accumulation, but also as a disease characterized by low-grade inflammation of the endothelial cells and an inappropriate healing response of the vascular lining.”
The commonly recognized function of vitamin K is a cofactor for c-glutamyl carboxylase, an endoplasmic enzyme involved in the posttranslational carboxylation (activation) of proteins with glutamic acid (Glu) residues into c-carboxyglutamate (Gla). With the carboxylation of glutamic acid residues on the protein substrate, a negative chemical group is formed that attracts and binds positively charged calcium cation. Vitamin K2, in particular, is responsible for carboxylation and activation of osteocalcin, which is essential for physiology of bone-building cells, osteoblasts. Vitamin K2 helps in carboxylation and activation of another protein besides osteocalcin, that is, matrix GLA protein (MGP), important for elasticity and prevention of calcification of blood vessels.
To that end, researchers evaluated high-purity natural vitamin K2 (98.4% menaquinone-7, MK-7, as MenaQ7) in vitro for its potential to inhibit gene expression and production of pro-inflammatory markers by human monocyte-derived macrophages (hMDMs) from two sources (hMDMs and THP-1).
The anti-inflammatory mechanism of vitamin K2
The results showed that the MK-7 form of vitamin K2 is able to dose- dependently inhibit TNF-a, IL-1a, and IL-1b gene expression and protein production by healthy hMDMs in vitro. According to the researchers, “In view of these encouraging findings on the anti-inflammatory properties of MK-7, we plan to test additional biomarkers of immune and inflammatory response in this form of vitamin K2 in vitro. This work may elucidate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of vitamin K2 and establish the potential biomarker targets in clinical testing of the role of MK-7 in the cardiovascular health as well as other chronic degenerative conditions.”
“All of the work showing the efficacy of MK-7 inhibiting cardiovascular and soft tissue calcification is recognized to the extent that scientific experts continue to explore new benefits and mechanisms,” says Hogne Vik, ex-NattoPharma chief medical officer. “These findings are very exciting and promising, and we are thrilled that we could offer the research team our vitamin K2 material – providing another piece of evidence that MenaQ7 is a clinically validated ingredient delivering true benefits for human health.”
Reference:
Pan MH, Maresz K, Lee PS, Wu JC, Ho CT, Popko J, Mehta DS, Stohs S??J, Badmaev V. Inhibition of TNF-a, IL-1a, and IL-1b by Pretreatment of Human Monocyte-Derived Macrophages with Menaquinone-7 and Cell Activation with TLR Agonists In Vitro. J Med Food.2016 Jul;19(7):663-9.
Improving K2 status may significantly benefit arterial stiffening and calcification, reducing cardiovascular complications.
Improving K2 status may significantly benefit arterial stiffening and calcification, reducing cardiovascular complications.
The American Heart Association has published a new study examining the effect excessive inactive Matrix Gla Protein (MGP) has on cardiovascular health, namely increased stiffening and calcification of large arteries. This stiffening increases cardiovascular stress, which can be accurately assessed using pulse wave velocity measurements, and can be alleviated by improving one’s Vitamin K2 status.
The study, “Central Hemodynamics in Relation to Circulating Desphospho-Uncarboxylated Matrix Gla Protein: A Population Study”, evaluated vitamin K status (dp-ucMGP) in 835 randomly recruited Flemish individuals. The researchers found that higher inactive dp-ucMGP was associated with greater pulse wave velocity (PWV), central pressure, forward pulse wave, and backward pulse wave.
The authors wrote: “Stiffening and calcification of the large arteries are forerunners of cardiovascular complications. MGP, which requires vitamin K–dependent activation, is a potent locally acting inhibitor of arterial calcification. We hypothesized that the central hemodynamic properties might be associated with inactive desphosphouncarboxylated MGP (dp-ucMGP).”
The authors concluded that, along with the current body of literature, the study’s findings show “In people representative for the general population, higher inactive dp-ucMGP was associated with greater PWV, central pulse pressure, forward pulse wave, and backward pulse wave. These observations highlight new avenues for preserving vascular integrity and preventing cardiovascular complications (eg, by improving a person’s vitamin K status).”
The role of pulse wave velocity measurements
The paper is significant because it articulates the importance of pulse wave velocity measurements in gauging cardiovascular impact, and adds to the significant body of evidence NattoPharma has cultivated showing that improving K status can provide true health benefits, according to ex-NattoPharma Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hogne Vik.
Vitamin K and cardiovascular health
“This research again confirms a link to vitamin K status and risk of cardiovascular health. NattoPharma’s research has shown that vitamin K2 supplementation can halt and even regress progression of arterial stiffness. This paper recognizes that stiffening and calcification of the large arteries are forerunners of cardiovascular complication, and the mechanism to prevent this is the vitamin K-dependent activation of MGP.”
“Importantly,” Vik continued, “only vitamin K2 intake has been linked to cardiovascular benefit as K2 is the most bioactive and longest-lasting form of vitamin K. Vitamin K1, for example, has not been linked to cardiovascular benefit as K2 seems to be the form of K active outside of the liver for cardiovascular health.”
Reference:
Wei F, Thijs L, Cauwenberghs N, Yang W, Zhang A, Yu C, Kuznetsova T, Nawrot T, Struijker-Boudier HA, Verhamme P, Vermeer C, Staessen JA. Central Hemodynamics in Relation to Circulating Desphospho-Uncarboxylated Matrix Gla Protein: A Population Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8:e01 1960.
A study[1] of renal transplant recipients, a group shown to express subclinical vitamin K deficiency, examined whether K2 supplementation would correct this deficiency and thus improve arterial stiffness. The study has published in Journal of the American Society of Hypertension, and the vitamin K2 used in the study was MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 as MK-7 from … Continue reading Study suggests MenaQ7® Shown Again to Inhibit Arterial Hardening
A study[1] of renal transplant recipients, a group shown to express subclinical vitamin K deficiency, examined whether K2 supplementation would correct this deficiency and thus improve arterial stiffness. The study has published in Journal of the American Society of Hypertension, and the vitamin K2 used in the study was MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 as MK-7 from ex-NattoPharma.
This Lebanese study evaluated in the KING trial (a single-arm pilot study) to see if there is an association between vitamin K2 supplementation and the change in both subclinical vitamin K status and indices of arterial stiffness among 60 renal transplant recipients with stable graft function. The results showed that 8 weeks of MK-7 supplementation (360 mcg/day as MenaQ7®) was associated with significant improvement in arterial stiffness and 24-hour peripheral and central pressures. The mean reduction in cfPWV was 1.4 m/s, which was well beyond the reduction of 1 m/s recommended for a clinically relevant vascular effect.
“While our previous cardiovascular study in healthy postmenopausal women showed an improvement in arterial elasticity after 3 years of supplementation, the results collected in this trial are staggering, especially as the statistically significant effect was seen very quickly,” says Hogne Vik, chief medical officer of ex-NattoPharma. “After just 8 weeks of MK-7 supplementation, low vitamin K status represented by dpucMGP level was significantly reduced by 55.1%. Moreover, supplementation was associated with a 14.2% reduction in mean cfPWV.
“One can assume that longer MK-7 supplementation may lead to even better results, and secure improvement in cardiovascular outcomes in renal transplant patients.”
According to the researchers, prior observational studies have shown the prevalence of subclinical vitamin K deficiency has been reported to be as high as 80% in the renal transplant population. Moreover, in kidney transplant recipients, Vitamin K insufficiency, expressed as a high circulating level of dp-ucMGP (dephosphorylated-uncarboxylated matrix Gla protein, or “inactive” MGP, a K-dependent protein), is associated independently with increased risk of mortality. However, any studies to date have not addressed whether vitamin K supplementation may lead to improved outcomes after kidney transplantation.
In addition, MK-7 supplementation improved vitamin K status, which was represented by the reduction in dp-ucMGP concentrations. A positive correlation was present between the reduction in arterial stiffness, a surrogate of early cardiovascular disease, and the circulating concentration of dp-ucMGP, a marker of subclinical vascular vitamin K deficiency and calcification.
Improving subclinical K deficiency and arterial stiffness
The main conclusion was that, among renal transplant recipients with stable graft function, vitamin K2 supplementation was associated with improvement in subclinical K deficiency and arterial stiffness. According to the researchers, the findings from this trial support the hypothesis that subclinical vitamin K deficiency may be a modifiable cardiovascular risk factor and may improve with MK-7 supplementation.
“Ex-NattoPharma was excited to participate in this clinical trial,” adds Dr. Vik. “We have dedicated ourselves to cultivating an understanding of the benefits Vitamin K2 offers to human health, and in that work have recognized that vitamin K2 deficiency can have serious implications on arterial health. This study adds to the body of evidence confirming the cardiovascular support MenaQ7® Vitamin K2 as MK-7 provides, and continues to solidify the hope this important nutrient offers the global population.”
Reference:
1 Mansour AG et al. Vitamin K2 supplementation and arterial stiffness among renal transplant recipients – a single-arm, single-center clinical trial. J Am Soc Hypertens. 2017 Jul 13. Pii: S1933-1711(17)30255-3.