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Published on: November 13, 2016
Vitamin K: a nutrient which plays a little-known role in glucose metabolism
Olivier Bourron1,2,3, Franck Phan1,2,3
1Sorbonne Université, Diabetes Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris.
Purpose Of Review:
Type 2 diabetes is one of the most important public health diseases. Type 2 diabetes pathophysiology involves multiple pathways, in which micronutrients could play a role. Among them, interest has grown concerning vitamin K. The purpose of this review is to expose the latest studies on the role of vitamin K in glucose metabolism, a poorly known function of this vitamin.
Recent Findings:
Animal experimentations and human observational and interventional studies were analyzed to evaluate the role of this vitamin in glucose metabolism. Daily intake of vitamin K seems to improve glucose metabolism and low intakes could be involved in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology. Recent data show that vitamin K could act on glucose metabolism via downstream targets such as osteocalcin, growth arrest-specific 6 protein, and matrix Gla protein.
Summary:
This review depicts new insights into the role of vitamin K in glucose metabolism regulation and depicts also the probable mechanisms underlying this association. Further studies will be needed to determine the dose and the duration of vitamin K treatment to achieve the strongest metabolic effect. Maybe the best strategy to improve glucose metabolism would be 'cocktails' of micronutrients associating vitamin K.
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