Vol. 7, Issue 9 (2018)

Author(s):
Anju Paul, Sreyasree Basu, Mainak Debnath and Amit Kumar Barman

Abstract:
Vitamin K is precisely known for its role in blood clotting. The original term vitamin “K” comes from the K in the Germanic word Koagulation meaning the ability to clot blood or prevent hemorrhage. In recent days, new roles for vitamin K have been emerged in the multifarious fields like, brain health, bone, cardiovascular, hormonal and reproductive health etc. vitamin K deficiency is much more likely to occur in infants but in adults person it is also seen. Symptoms include bruising, hematomas oozing of blood at surgical or puncture sites, stomach pains; risk of massive uncontrolled bleeding; cartilage calcification; and severe malformation of developing bone or deposition of insoluble calcium salts in the walls of arteries. In infants, it can cause some birth defects such as underdeveloped face, nose, bones, and fingers. Vitamin K is changed to its active form in the liver by the enzyme Vitamin K epoxide reductase. Activated vitamin K is then used to gamma carboxylate (and thus activate) certain enzymes involved in coagulation: Factors II, VII, IX, X, and protein C and protein S. Inability to activate the clotting cascade via these factors leads to the bleeding symptoms.