By Andrea Hargraves 
The history of vitamin K (Nobel Prize in 1943) is closely related to thrombosis
- author, Pablo Garcia de Frutos
- roll, Conversation*
That we do not bleed to death when injured or that tissue recovers when damaged by an external factor are two essential functions of vitamin K.
Although less well known than Vitamin C or D, it may hold the secret to healthy aging.
Vitamins are not boring
It may seem to us now that studying vitamins is a boring thing, but a hundred years ago they were at the forefront of the scientific wave. The name “vitamin” was proposed by the biochemist Casimir Funk in 1912. He used it to refer to substances essential in the diet in small amounts to maintain health.
From the isolation of thiamine (vitamin B1) in 1910 to folic acid in 1941, the study of these substances has been a very active field in chemistry and physiology. The Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1929, 1930, 1934, 1937, 1938 and 1943 for identifying and describing the functions of various vitamins.
Specifically, the history of vitamin K (Nobel Prize in 1943) is closely related to coagulation. The name is derived from the Danish language “CoagulationAnd the previously proposed vitamin, vitamin J (flavin), has now been renamed vitamin B2. It was discovered by detecting a substance in the diet that has an anti-haemorrhagic effect, that is, it prevents bleeding.
Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that there were substances in the cattle feed that led to the opposite effect in the cattle: the animals began to bleed spontaneously.
When these hemorrhage-causing compounds were isolated, it was observed that their composition was similar to vitamin K, which led to their use in medicine as the first oral anticoagulants to prevent blood clots. They are what we call vitamin K antagonists, such as acenocoumarol (the famous Sintrom®), which competes with vitamin K.
How does vitamin K work?
To maintain healthy aging, many scientists have suggested increasing vitamin K intake in the elderly.
Although this vitamin’s effect on clotting has been known since the 1950s and the use of vitamin K antagonists, it wasn’t until the 1970s that we really began to understand how it worked.
Vitamin K is necessary to modify the structure of some of the amino acids that make up some proteins (less than twenty types) that we call “vitamin K-dependent proteins”. Among them, prothrombin, which is the central regulator of the coagulation chain, stands out.
The modification in which vitamin K is involved is irreversible and leads to the emergence of a new amino acid called gamma-carboxyglutamic acid. This amino acid is able to capture calcium ions like tweezers. The combination of protein and calcium allows it to have special functions, including binding to the outside of cell membranes or to specific cellular receptors, depending on the concentration of calcium.
Mammals are not the only animals that use vitamin K Konos fabric It uses vitamin K-based neurotoxins to hunt its prey. And although the shellfish in the photo looks harmless, be warned, as more than thirty cases of fatal poisoning due to its bites have been described.
Vitamin K-based tissue repair systems
For those of us working in this field, it came as a surprise that in the 1990s a new vitamin K-dependent protein was isolated, very similar to clotting proteins, and is capable of activating a family of cell receptors related to growth hormones. ..
This protein, GAS6, and its coagulation-regulating partner, protein S, are able to help immune system cells repair damaged tissue.
Its mechanism of action is explained in two stages. What they do to regulate inflammation is help eliminate cells that are in the process of irreversibly dying and regenerate new cells. Our studies showed, in addition, that it caused fibrosis in organs such as the liver, which is a very important process for responding to chemical and nutritional damage, such as alcohol, certain diets, or toxic substances.
Damage to the cells that make up our organs, which accumulates over years of life, is part of the aging process. Therefore, the importance of repair systems such as those represented by vitamin K-dependent proteins increases with age.
To maintain healthy aging, many scientists have suggested increasing vitamin K intake in the elderly. This can prevent vascular calcification, improve bone health and strengthen tissue repair systems.
In fact, vitamin K deficiency is very rare in humans and occurs most often in newborns, as vitamin K hardly crosses the placental barrier.
For this reason, at birth, the deficiency is compensated for by giving a dose of vitamin K to prevent possible bleeding, which is rare, but has serious consequences. It has been done in Europe for over 50 years for almost all newborns.
More spinach, cabbage and chard
In adults, vitamin K deficiency only occurs when there are intestinal absorption disorders. This is because the intestinal flora itself produces vitamin K precursors, so a varied diet is sufficient to cover the daily need for this micronutrient.
However, for these new aging-related functions, such as reducing osteoporosis and vascular calcification, increasing vitamin K intake by consuming foods rich in it (spinach, Swiss chard, kale and green leafy vegetables in general) can improve health.
And although there is still much to be investigated, it seems that to these advantages we will add the maintenance of repair systems and the regulation of inflammation.