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Tomatoes in the Diet
Published in Denise Wilson, Sensing the Perfect Tomato, 2019
Fortunately, vitamin K deficiencies are extremely rare in healthy individuals who consume a reasonable and varied diet. Nevertheless, two groups of people are particularly vulnerable to vitamin K deficiencies. Newborn infants often have vitamin K deficiencies because phylloquinone transports poorly across the placenta to the fetus. For this reason, newborns are often given a single dose of vitamin K at birth to alleviate deficiencies. Adults who have certain gastrointestinal disorders that affect nutrient absorption, such as cystic fibrosis and celiac disease, are also vulnerable to vitamin K deficiencies and benefit from additional vitamin K in the diet and through supplements. On the other extreme, there is no evidence that too much vitamin K in the body is harmful (NIH 2018f).
Innovations in Noninvasive Instrumentation and Measurements
Published in Robert B. Northrop, Non-Invasive Instrumentation and Measurement in Medical Diagnosis, 2017
A patient at risk for blood clots is generally treated with the drug, warfarin (also known as Coumadin, Jantoven, Marevan, and Uniwarfin). Warfarin and related 4-hydroxycoumarin-containing compounds decrease blood coagulation by inhibiting the enzyme, vitamin K epoxide reductase, which leads to the reduction of vitamin K, necessary for the clotting process. (Vitamin K is found naturally in certain foods in two forms: K1 = phylloquinone and K2 = menaquinone.) Vitamin K2 is the main storage form in animals; it has several subtypes which depend on the isoprenoid “tail” chain length. Vitamin K1 is found mainly in green leafy vegetables, brassicas, grapes, etc. K2 is found in liver pâté, cheeses, chicken livers, egg yolks, etc. Because of unintentional, random dietary inputs of vitamin K, a person subject to embolism formation who is being treated with chronic warfarin may find his/her propensity to form clots variable in time. Because of this variability, patients being treated with warfarin are generally required to periodically monitor their clotting time as described by the international normalized ratio (INR), using a minimally invasive electronic instrument that uses a drop of blood on a proprietary test strip.
Vitamins and Nutrition
Published in Richard J. Sundberg, The Chemical Century, 2017
Vitamin K was identified by Henrik Dam, a Danish physiologist. He received the 1943 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Edward Doisy of St. Louis University Medical School, who synthesized the compound. Working with chicks fed with low-lipid diets, Dam noted hemorrhages and slow bloodclotting. The designation K in this case came from the German koagulation. There are at least two natural forms of vitamin K. One, called vitamin K1 or phylloquinone, has four isoprene units, the first being unsaturated, attached to a methylnaphthoquinone ring. The other forms, called menaquinones, have a variable number of unsaturated isoprene units. The dietary sources of vitamin K1 include green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, and cabbage. Vitamin K1 is also found in some (canola, soybean, olive) but not all (corn, peanut) vegetable oils. The menaquinones are primarily bacterial in origin.
Comparative analysis of glucosinolate production in hairy roots of green and red kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala)
Published in Preparative Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 2019
Do Manh Cuong, Sang Un Park, Chang Ha Park, Nam Su Kim, Sun Ju Bong, Sook Young Lee
Kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica) along with other Brassicaceae species and genera, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts, are the increasingly popular leafy vegetables that are consumed all over the world. Although kale is mainly cultivated in Northern and Central Europe, e.g. in Germany, as well as in North America,[8] it is also grown in China, Russia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. As an important vegetable crop, consumption of kale has health benefits because it contains many bioactive compounds, such as glucosinolates (GSLs),[9,10] antioxidants,[11] vitamin C,[12] vitamin K,[13] cholesterol-lowering substances,[14] and carotenoids like lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-carotene.[15,16] Several epidemiological studies report that kale has a very high content of beneficial compounds including some with powerful medicinal properties.[17]