An animal study found that vitamin K2 as MK-7 boosts nitric oxide (NO) to improve NO-dependent endothelial function.
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An animal study recently published in Vascular Pharmacology1 found that vitamin K2 as MK-7 (MenaQ7 from Nattopharma; Edison, NJ) boosts nitric oxide (NO) to improve NO-dependent endothelial function. The mice, at early and late stages of atherosclerosis, taking low and high doses of MK-7, respectively, showed a similar degree of improvement in endothelium-dependent vasodilation and increase in plasma nitrate concentration.
“The study demonstrated that vitamin K2 - MK-7 improved NO-dependent endothelial function in mice, and the results showed that K2 - MK-7 provided a vaso-protective effect independently whether endothelial dysfunction was treated with vitamin K2 - MK-7 prior to or concurrently with the occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques,” explains Hogne Vik, NattoPharma’s chief medical officer, in a press release. “This contributes nicely to our already substantial body of research showing MenaQ7 is a cardio-protective nutrient, and reaffirms why the medical community is interested in ongoing study of this important nutrient for the betterment of global health.”
The study results are significant because they highlight a new pharmacological activity of vitamin K2 as MK-7, says Vik.