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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #37641
Title: THE PHYLLOQUINONE (VITAMIN K1) CONTENT OF FOODS IN THE US-FDA TOTAL DIET STUDY

Author
item BOOTH SARAH L - TUFTS-HNRCA
item SADOWSKI JAMES A - TUFTS-HNRCA
item PENNINGTON JEAN - DIV OF NUTR, FDA

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Vitamin K is required not only for blood to clot but appears to be necessary for the development of healthy bones. In addition, the vitamin is now known to be distributed throughout the body and may have many more functions than are currently known. This manuscript describes the analysis of 261 food samples from the US Food and Drug Administration Total Diet Study. In this study, researchers visited several supermarkets in various cities several times a year and purchased food items which approximate the usual dietary practices of different groups of Americans. Green, leafy vegetables still appear to be the predominant dietary source of vitamin K followed by certain vegetable oils that are derived from vegetables or seeds containing vitamin K (soybean, canola, olive). Some mixed dishes contain moderate amounts of vitamin K that are attributable to the vegetable oils used in their preparation. Other foods, such as certain meats, brewed beverages, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages, contained negligible amounts of vitamin K. These data improve the ability of future research scientists and dietary consultants to more easily determine dietary contributions of vitamin K and allow for the adjustments of dietary intake through manipulation of the diet.

Technical Abstract: Food samples (n=261) from the US-FDA Total Diet Study were analyzed for phylloquinone (vitamin K1) by an HPLC method that incorporates postcolumn reduction of the quinone followed by fluorescence detection of the hydroquinone form of the vitamin. Green, leafy vegetables still appear to be the predominant dietary source of this vitamin (113 - 440 mcg/100 g of vegetable), followed by certain vegetable oils that are derived from vegetables or seeds containing large concentrations of phylloquinone. Some mixed dishes contain moderate amounts of phylloquinone that are attributable to the vegetable oils used in their preparation. Other foods, such as certain meats, brewed beverages, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages have been shown to contain negligible amounts of phylloquinone. These data expand and improve the quality and quantity of the vitamin K provisional table and will be used to prioritize future analyses.