NattoPharma and KD Nutra to develop omega 3 and vitamin K2 ingredient for heart health

25 Jun 2020 --- NattoPharma is partnering with KD Nutra – a KD Pharma Group company – to develop a new ingredient for cardiovascular (CV) health. The product will combine KD Nutra’s KD-PüR high concentrate omega 3s with NattoPharma’s vitamin K2, called MenaQ7 PharmaPure MK-7. This comes as NattoPharma amps up its calls for an established Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for vitamin K2. Research partners from the Norway-based company have published a paper identifying the specific activity of the vitamin.

“The well-known CV health benefits of omega 3 fatty acids are the perfect complement for vitamin K2, the only elucidated inhibitor of hardening of the arteries. For CV health, this truly is the perfect pair, and the reach of KD Nutra and NattoPharma combined can bring this powerful combination to customers around the globe. As the body of evidence continues to grow for vitamin K2 and omega 3s, we see great potential in future formulations and applications,” Kate Quackenbush, Director of Communications at NattoPharma tells NutritionInsight.

The partnership for KD-Pür EPA and DHA ≥ 70% Concentrates and MenaQ7 K2 is available as part of the K2ardio3 platform. It offers a variety of custom formulations, including complementary CV ingredients such as plant sterols. KD Nutra says its expertise allows for proprietary blends and delivery options.

“This ingredient combination could provide the most comprehensive CV support on the market, and those products are targeted to the lion’s share of the global population. Yet this combination also shows great promise for supporting bone health and children’s health,” details Quackenbush.

“NattoPharma has been incubating a number of new concepts based on our high standard of clinical validation confirming true health benefits,” adds NattoPharma CEO Kjetil Ramsøy. “KD Nutra’s rich history of innovation and stringent quality standards fits perfectly with NattoPharma’s principles, and the time is right to deliver an unsurpassed CV combination ingredient to the market.”

A complementary formula
Quackenbush details that high concentrate omega 3s – DHA and EPA – have earned a qualified health claim for the reduction in risk of coronary heart disease and for the ability to lower blood pressure in the US. Additionally, it has four European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) claims for CV health.

MenaQ7 Vitamin K2 as MK-7 has been clinically shown to increase arterial flexibility by activating the most potent inhibitor of arterial calcification: Matrix Gla Protein (MGP). In addition, MenaQ7 has evidence to validate a structure-function claim and an EFSA claim for bone health, as K2 promotes the activation of osteocalcin, the protein that helps bind calcium in the healthy bone matrix.

“While omega 3’s mechanism of action is linked to these important outcomes by supporting healthy inflammation, triglycerides, blood pressure and promotion of arterial health, it is not recognized for impacting vascular calcification. Health experts believe this calcification may cause blood vessels to narrow and lead to the development of heart disease. As vitamin K2 has been shown to impact vascular calcification, it is the perfect complementary nutrient to support optimal heart health,” explains Quackenbush. 

Omega 3s have earned a qualified health claim for the reduction in risk of coronary heart disease.Evidence to support vitamin K2 RDI
This launch comes as Nutrients study, completed with the support of NattoPharma, reveals the specific activity of vitamin K2 based upon proposed frameworks necessary for a bioactive substance to be recommended for an RDI. Notably, vitamin K2 as long-chain menaquinones, such as MK-7, specifically has a long half-life and extrahepatic activity, whereas the dietary form vitamin K1 and shorter-chain menaquinones have much shorter half-lives.  

The current vitamin K RDI reflects the action of K1 for healthy blood coagulation and is based on median K1 intakes from national surveys in 2001. “However, to date, there is no official assigned daily value for Vitamin K2, making it even harder for consumers to understand how much K2 they need to get daily,” says Quackenbush.

She continues that establishing a vitamin K2-specific RDI would be an important step to helping the industry provide products that will help correct the global K2 deficiency, which has led to a state of impaired global bone and cardiovascular health. “Comprehensive studies show that simply correcting vitamin K2 deficiency can deliver unprecedented improvements in bone and heart health,” she states.

NattoPharma’s goal is ultimately to see vitamin K2 included in multivitamins across the world, which the company says will provide adults and children the bone and cardiovascular support that will help them grow and age with the best possible foundation for health.  

Last month, a study promoted by the company revealed the potential of vitamin K2 in lowering coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, while there was no association between intake of vitamin K1 and CHD. Meanwhile, Kappa Bioscience’s vitamin K2 recently received a vegan certification.

By Katherine Durrell