Effects of long-term vitamin K(1) (phylloquinone) or vitamin K(2) (menaquinone-4) supplementation on body composition and serum parameters in rats.

Vitamin K is a cofactor for γ-glutamyl carboxylase, which is an essential enzyme for the γ-carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent proteins such as osteocalcin and matrix Gla protein. Although it has been suggested that vitamin K plays an important role in the improvement of bone metabolism, the relationship between dietary vitamin K intake and bone metabolism has not been thoroughly investigated. Moreover, vitamin K is thought to have other actions beyond influencing the γ-carboxylation status. In the present study, we examined the effects of the long-term addition of phylloquinone (PK) or menaquinone-4 (MK-4) to a control diet on bone mineral density, bone strength, body composition, and serum parameters in rats. A total of 23 female Sprague-Dawley strain rats (6 weeks old) were divided into three groups: basic control diet group, PK diet (PK: 600mg/kg diet) group, and MK diet (MK-4: 600mg/kg diet) group. Three months after starting the experimental diet, the addition of PK to the basic control diet significantly increased the bone mineral density (BMD) of the femur (p<0.05). In the MK group, there was no significant difference in the BMD of the femur. However, two types of bone strength parameter: the minimum cross-sectional moment of inertia and the polar moment of inertia, were significantly higher in the MK group than in the control (p<0.05, respectively). Furthermore, the femoral bone parameters (the width, dry weight and ash weight, and cortical, cancellous, trabecular, and total bone mineral contents) in the MK group were increased significantly compared with the control. Interestingly, the addition of PK or MK-4 significantly decreased the total fat accumulation (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively), and serum triglycerides were reduced by 48% in the PK group and 29% in the MK group compared with the control. There were no significant differences in the levels of serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, growth hormone, insulin-like growth hormone-1, insulin-like growth hormone binding protein-3, and cross-linked N-teleopeptide of type I collagen among the three groups. This is the first study to demonstrate the effect of the long-term addition of PK or MK-4 to the control diet on body composition and serum parameters in an in vivo system using rats. Further studies on the mechanism of vitamin K supplementation in the regulation of bone metabolism would provide valuable data on the prevention of lifestyle-related disorders, including osteoporosis.