Vitamin K
Of 4,787 on-market vitamin k products in the January 2026 DSLD dump, the median declared dose is 70 mcg, and 79.2% list Phytonadione / Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) as the primary form.
Form share
Of 4,439 products with an identifiable primary form, here is the share held by each form of Vitamin K on the market today.
| Form | Quality tier | n | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phytonadione / Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) | Tier 1 | 3,516 | 79.2% |
| Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) | Unrated | 864 | 19.5% |
| Menaquinone-4 (MK-4) | Unrated | 59 | 1.3% |
Form share over time
Entry-year breakdown of the top forms, 2012–2025.
Dose distribution
Deciles of declared dose per serving (mcg), among 4,373 products with a disclosed amount, against the RDA of 120.
- 0.6% of products don't disclose an amount because Vitamin K is declared inside a proprietary blend.
By dosage form
By target group
Top brands
Forms explained
Best-studied form and basis of the AI, but has a short plasma half-life (~1-2h), clearing to near-baseline within ~8h of a dose.
Source: Schurgers LJ et al. 2007, Blood 109(8):3279-83, PMID 17158229
Genuinely contested: half-life ~3 days (vs 1-2h for K1) gives much more sustained circulating levels, argued to better serve extrahepatic (bone/vascular) carboxylation, but head-to-head superiority on hard clinical outcomes vs K1 is not firmly established.
Source: Schurgers LJ et al. 2007, PMID 17158229
Used at much higher pharmacological doses (45mg/day, as menatetrenone) for osteoporosis in Japan; generally understood to have a short half-life similar to K1's, but no verified head-to-head MK-4-vs-MK-7 PK study was found.
Source: uncertain -- needs review
Reference values
- RDA (adult): 120 mcg — Adequate Intake, no RDA established: 120mcg (men); 90mcg (women)
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (adult): not established — Not established -- no adverse effects convincingly associated with high vitamin K intake
- Studied clinical dose range: ?–180 mcg
- Knapen MHJ et al. 2013, Osteoporos Int 24(9):2499-2507, PMID 23649149 -- 180mcg/day MK-7 x3yr reduced age-related bone loss and improved bone-strength markers vs placebo in postmenopausal women. No single pinned low-dose comparator RCT was confidently identified -- left null rather than guessed.
- Note: Vitamin K has never had a widely used IU convention on US labels.