Description
Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) is insoluble in water and readily soluble in ether, n-hexane and chloroform.
Vitamin K1 is a derivative of 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone and is found in green plants. It is rapidly metabolised and only minor amounts are stored in the organism. Vitamin K is an essential cofactor in the posttranslational carboxylation reaction of glutamic acid residues (GLU) to gamma carboxyglutamic acid residues (GLA) in a number of blood clotting factors, and also in some other proteins such as osteocalcin. The adjacent carboxyl groups of the GLA-residues provide the Vitamin K dependent proteins with characteristic calcium- and phospholipid-binding properties that are essential for their activation and function. A decrease in Vitamin K1 is reported in osteoporotic patients. Other clinical symptoms of Vitamin K1 deficiency are clotting disorders, which manifest themselves as bleeding in the skin, in the mucous membranes, in muscles and in internal organs. Symptoms of deficiencies normally appear within few days.