Mondo Knows Facts
Gut bacteria make a form of vitamin K
Colonic microbes produce menaquinones, one of the two main vitamin K families Vitamin K exists as phylloquinone from leafy plants and menaquinones made by bacteria. Microbes in the colon synthesise menaquinones, and some is absorbed lower down the tract. The amount absorbed is modest, so plant sources still matter, but the microbial contribution is real. It sits in Mondo's human body collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
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Tags: microbiome, vitamins, colon
Gut bacteria make a form of vitamin K: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Colonic microbes produce menaquinones, one of the two main vitamin K families. The figure is taken from MedlinePlus, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a human body fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.