PLT Health Solutions has received approval from the Non-GMO Project to sell its menatto brought by Japanese oils producer J-Oil Mills under this label. Menatto is a vitamin made using a bacterial strain from the traditional Japanese food natto – a food made from whole fermented soybeans with Bacillus subtilis var. natto.

“While our ingredient was always non-GMO, certification gives consumer product companies the ability to use the verified symbol on a product label and everyone involved – from product innovator to consumer – knows they can trust the ingredient,” Sid Hulse, vice president of product development at PLT, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“In global markets, non-GMO products are either required or at least the cost of entry to be formulated into a nutrition or supplement product,” he explains, noting that the verification also helps underscore the clean label nature of the ingredient.

Hulse flags the ingredient as the “world’s premier source of vitamin K2.” 

With possibilities to be added in any food that can be fortified with vitamin D – milks, cereals, meat, etc. The vitamin in dietary supplements is typically combined with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D.

Vitamin for vegans

Hulse explains that vitamin K is important to bone health in children and adults and that people that eat animal products already get some vitamin K2 from meat and cheese.

“Vegan diets are usually rich in fruits and vegetables; this is one of their healthful features. Because green leafy vegetables are the best sources of vitamin K1, a vegan diet will likely be high in this nutrient,” Hulse explains. 

“This can lead many vegans and vegetarians to believe their vitamin K intake is adequate, even excellent. However, because vitamin K1 has such poor bioavailability, that is not necessarily true. Vegans are at particular risk for deficiency because typically their only intake of vitamin K comes from vitamin K1,” Hulse underscores.

The poor bioavailability of vitamin K1 makes vegans prone to be deficient in vitamin K2, which is not present in many plant foods, not being able to obtain it through regular diets, with vitamin K1 not being sufficient for a healthy diet.

“Because of its unique function in the body, some researchers have recommended there be a separate recommended daily intake established just for vitamin K2,” notes Hulse.

Research on K2 and menatto
Menatto vitamin K2 has been subject to ten human clinical studies, some of them include:

A study carried out in post-menopausal women found that low doses of J-Oil Mills’ vitamin K2 helped bind calcium to bones, supporting its density and strength. A second similar study on post-menopausal women found that three years of supplementation with J-Oil Mills’ vitamin K2 helped with healthy blood flow and cardiovascular health. 

In a research on pre-pubescent children, J-Oil Mills’ vitamin K2 raised blood levels of vitamin K2 – when compared with a placebo control group – and helped ensure proper levels of carboxylated osteocalcin, a protein that regulates healthy bone formation.

Another study on menatto intake found that it supported mineral density in the lumbar spine and femoral neck, indicators of bone strength.

Additionally, it can help, according to PLT, with joint health, supporting joint and cartilage health. Furthermore, having beauty applications supporting collagen synthesis in human fibroblasts.

This month, new cardiovascular research presented by the Odense University Hospital in Denmark at the European Society of Cardiology Congress found a link between vitamin K2 and D supplementation that reduces heart attack risks.

Meanwhile, other research on the vitamin found that it can help with cellular degradation and even treat Alzheimer’s.

Vitamin K2 moves
The importance of vitamin K2 was spotlighted in a study by the Council for Responsible Nutrition Foundation on healthcare cost savings that could be generated until the end of the decade (2022 - 2030) including vitamin K2, among other supplements, found that yearly savings could amount US$13.3 billion and US$85.3 billion.

This month, Kappa Bioscience launched an organic-grade vitamin K2 on the US market for oil-based health applications.

Also this October, Gnosis by Lesaffre announced that its vitamin K2 matrix won a first-place Nutrition Industry Executive award in the excipients, non-actives and delivery systems category. The protective ingredient can stabilize menaquinone ingredients in complex product formulations.

The vitamin K2 market is witnessing similar trends to those seen across the wider nutraceutical sector, Thies Ripcke, director of business development for North America at Kappa, told NutritionInsight.