Water soluble vitamin K2 form targets ‘significant demand for K2 in food products, especially beverages’

25-Jun-2013 - Last updated on 26-Jun-2013 at 15:00 GMT

A new water soluble vitamin K2 powder could satisfy the demand for vitamin K2 in food and beverage products, with the suppliers stating that the ingredient has ‘no organoleptic impact and is odorless’.

Introduced by Nu Science Trading, LLC, and Viridis BioPharma/Synergia Life Sciences, the vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7), called MenaquinGold WS, is said to be soluble in both hot and cold water.

“We believe there is significant demand for vitamin K2 in food products especially fortified beverages,” said Dale Kriz, Managing Director of Nu Science Trading, LLC.

“To start, any rich calcium source beverage (milks and milk alternatives) should and will eventually contain vitamin K2 as vitamin K2 is highly important to calcium metabolism. The issue of the Calcium Paradox is gaining increased awareness and press that describes the danger of taking too much calcium without the appropriate ‘effectors’ to direct calcium to the bones and not arteries.

“Any beverage product containing calcium and vitamin D should, and will eventually, contain vitamin K2 to optimize the health benefits of calcium and vitamin D. Thus far, this was not possible with the supply of vitamin K2 available in the market,” said Kriz.

The ingredient also has significant potential in sports drinks, which he predicts will require vitamin K2 as an important nutrient.

“Market data indicates that more and more consumers prefer non-capsule delivery and thus the growth in the powdered beverage and stick pack sector,” added Kriz. “Previous sources of K2 showed virtually no stability in this type of application. The WS solves that.”

K forms

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 makes up about 90% of the vitamin K in a typical Western diet; and menaquinones (vitamins K2), which make up about 10% of Western vitamin K consumption and can be synthesized in the gut by the microflora.

Menaquinones (MK-n: with the n determined by the number of prenyl side chains) can also be found in the diet; MK-4 can be found in animal meat, MK-7, MK-8, and MK-9 are found in fermented food products like cheese, and natto is a rich source of MK-7.

Despite the positive impacts, vitamin K deficiency may be more common than previously thought, according to findings from a Dutch study in 2007 (Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Vol. 98, pp. 120-125).

Production

Kriz told us that the product is a deep tank Bacillus sp. fermentation utilizing a non-soy carbon source to avoid the issues with allergens.

“This makes it more widely appealing than product made from soy fermentation or synthetic material that may not be suitable for consumption,” he said.

The water soluble technology is being kept as a trade secret at this time, said Kriz. “We believe there is a large enough technical barrier to entry that we are safer keeping it proprietary vs. making it public via a patent,” he said.

Kriz added that in-house in vitro studies have been performed evaluating the dissolution of this form of vitamin K2, with data reportedly indicating that it is equally available to the active absorption mechanism in the gastrointestinal tract as standard vitamin K2 has been done.

The ingredient soy free, allergen free, vegan, self-affirmed GRAS, Kosher and Halal, said the company.