What contains a lot of vitamin K?

Vitamins are essential substances for our body. If the body lacks vitamins, it will cause many diseases. Minor diseases are frequent oral ulcers, which seriously affect people's lives. Major diseases are the occurrence of tumors, that is, cancer, which endangers life. Therefore, in our daily life, we need to eat more foods rich in vitamins. Vitamin K is also very important. So what foods contain a lot of vitamin K? Let’s take a closer look below!

1. Types of Vitamin K

At present, vitamin K has developed into a family. Vitamin K is a general term for vitamin K compounds, including vitamin K1, K2, K3, and K4. All vitamin K have similar mechanisms of activity, with the basic structure being a 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone nucleus. The different forms of vitamin K differ in the substituents at the C3 position on the 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone nucleus. Vitamin K1 and K2 are natural vitamin K.

1. Vitamin K1

Vitamin K1 exists in green leafy plants. The hydrophobic substituent at the C3 position is a phytyl group. Its full chemical name is 2-methyl-3-phytyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, so it is also called methyl green quinone or phytyl menaquinone. For the human body, vitamin K1 can only be obtained from external food, and daily diet is the main way to obtain vitamin K1. Vitamin K1 is the only one that can be synthesized by green plants and algae. The amount of vitamin K1 found in foods varies depending on soil and growing conditions, geographic location, and when it was harvested. Vitamin K1 levels in food vary widely. Green leafy vegetables are the main source of vitamin K1 for the human body, and some beans and rapeseed oil also contain more vitamin K1. The content of spinach, cabbage and alfalfa is more than 100g/100g, the content of other green leafy vegetables is 10-100g/100g, and the content of fruits and tomatoes is less than 10g/100g. Vegetable oil, margarine, fish and lean meat contain 1-100g/100g, while bread and cereals have a lower content of 0.1-10g/100g.

2. Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 is synthesized by certain bacteria. The hydrophobic substituent at the C3-position is a family of unsaturated isopentenyl groups, so it is also called polyisopentenyl menaquinone. Hydrophobic substituents at the C3-position of vitamin K2 synthesized by different bacteria. Certain intestinal bacteria can produce vitamin K2. Bacteroidetes produce MK-10 and MK-11, Escherichia coli synthesizes MK-8, Veillonella synthesizes MK-7, and fungi synthesize MK-6. The human colonic vitamin K2 content totals approximately 20 g/g dry weight, primarily as MK-10.

To sum up, the question is what contains a lot of vitamin K. We understand the classification of vitamin K, and we also know that it is contained relatively high in plants. We still need to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, especially green vegetables. Such foods rich in vitamins need to occupy a large proportion in the dietary structure, which is good for our body.