[Vitamins K₁ and K₂ in children's nutrition]

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Pediatrics
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Vitamin K encompasses phylloquinone (K1) in plants and menaquinones (K2) in animal/fermented foods.
• Breast milk is low in vitamin K, posing a deficiency risk for exclusively breastfed infants.
• Current recommendations for vitamin K intake primarily address phylloquinone (K1).

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the distinct roles of vitamin K1 and K2 in pediatric nutrition.
• To assess the vitamin K status in children.
• To evaluate the impact of different vitamin K forms on child health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of recent studies.
• Searches conducted in RSCI, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases.
• Keywords included 'vitamin K', 'K1', 'K2', 'menaquinone', 'phylloquinone', 'children', and 'breast milk'.

Main Results:

• Vitamin K1 and K2 are interchangeable for blood coagulation factor synthesis.
• Vitamin K2 demonstrates superior efficacy in modifying extrahepatic proteins for antioxidant and epigenetic effects.
• Infant formulas have higher K1 content than breast milk; early introduction of K2-rich complementary foods is crucial.
• Fermented foods naturally containing vitamin K2 (MK-7) are important for children's diets.

Conclusions:

• Vitamin K2 offers significant benefits for children's skeletal and cardiovascular health.
• Increased consumption of fermented foods rich in menaquinones (MK-7) is recommended for children.
• Dietary strategies should focus on ensuring adequate intake of both vitamin K1 and K2 for optimal pediatric nutrition.