OSLO, Norway and Metuchen, NJ –NattoPharma is launching at SupplySide West next week a full-spectrum vitamin K2 it calls the result of a proprietary technological breakthrough providing menaquinones (MK) 6, 7, 8 and 9, a range of isomers vital for cardiovascular health.

“NattoPharma has driven the creation of the vitamin K2 market, sponsoring the important research validating the importance of K2 for human health, and the work has shaped the MenaQ7 brand,” said Dr. Hogne Vik, NattoPharma chief medical officer, in a statement. “The important epidemiological studies that led us to our ground-breaking human clinical research used fermented cheese as the source of vitamin K2, which led us to create MenaQ7 Full Spectrum.”

According to researchers, vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an “unequivocal” role in the activation of Gla-proteins. “The Rotterdam and Prospect studies have shown that food-derived vitamin K (such as from cheeses) improves long-term cardiovascular health outcomes because it more specifically delivers the long-chain menaquinones MK-6, 7, 8 and 9,” they said.

“While fermented cheeses are the best dietary source of menaquinones in the West, most will not be able to consume enough to obtain optimal amounts of vitamin K2,” noted Dr. Vik. “NattoPharma … offers to the market a raw material that delivers the range of nenaquinones found in foods.”

MenaQ7 Full Spectrum is naturally fermented using chickpea protein, offering an all-trans vitamin K2 that is free from gluten, soy and all known allergens, and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

NattoPharma is also hosting iHeart at its booth P115. This company has pioneered a simple 30-second test that helps to determine one’s “Internal Age” by measuring aortic stiffness. The system was developed by Dr. Jess Goodman, a general practitioner and medical advisor at three long-term care facilities, who will be on hand to conduct measurements and answer questions.