{
  "dataset": "vitamin-k2-mk7-vs-mk4-comparison",
  "title": "Vitamin K forms compared: MK-7, MK-4 and K1, how long each stays in the blood, label amounts, trial doses and findings",
  "sourcePage": "https://verifiedsupplementdata.com/vitamin-k2/mk7-vs-mk4/",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licenseUrl": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "attribution": "Verified Supplement Data (2026), Vitamin K2 MK-7 vs MK-4 Comparison",
  "dateModified": "2026-10-05",
  "methodology": "Each field is written no stronger than its source: PubMed abstracts (read 2026-10-05) and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements vitamin K fact sheet. Trial doses are the doses the outcome trials gave. Prices are not in this dataset; the page prices products at each brand's own list price.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "name": "MK-7",
      "aka": "Menaquinone-7",
      "inBlood": "A very long time; daily doses build up to steady levels",
      "onLabels": "Mostly 100 mcg a pill (45 to 300 mcg)",
      "trialDose": "90, 180, 360 and up to 720 mcg a day",
      "trialsFound": "Benefits at 90 mcg (bone, 1 year), 180 mcg (bone, 3 years) and 360 mcg (heart-artery calcium, 2 years); other trials at 360, 375 and 720 mcg found no benefit",
      "madeFrom": "Fermentation (often the natto bacterium) or chemical synthesis",
      "sources": [
        "17158229",
        "23140417",
        "32060566",
        "23525894",
        "42268593",
        "19937427",
        "33030563",
        "35465686"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "MK-4",
      "aka": "Menatetrenone",
      "inBlood": "Not found in the blood at 420 mcg",
      "onLabels": "100 mcg to 15,000 mcg, often in blends",
      "trialDose": "Mostly 45 mg (45,000 mcg) a day, a prescription osteoporosis drug in Japan",
      "trialsFound": "An early review of Japanese trials found fewer fractures, but it included problematic trials; the largest trial (4,378 women) found no overall drop in spine fractures (it may have helped severe osteoporosis), and a Western trial found no change in bone density",
      "madeFrom": "Made in a lab for supplements; your body also makes it from K1",
      "sources": [
        "23140417",
        "NIH ODS",
        "16801507",
        "29582044",
        "19082528",
        "19113922"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "K1",
      "aka": "Phylloquinone",
      "inBlood": "Shorter than MK-7; most goes to the liver",
      "onLabels": "About 100 mcg in K1 pills; 1,000 to 2,000 mcg in some blends",
      "trialDose": "1 to 5 mg a day in bone trials",
      "trialsFound": "5 mg a day for 2 to 4 years did not change bone density; fewer had fractures, but the trial was not built to test that",
      "madeFrom": "Green leafy vegetables in food; made in a lab for supplements",
      "sources": [
        "11960685",
        "17158229",
        "18922041",
        "NIH ODS"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "citations": [
    "PMID:17158229",
    "PMID:23140417",
    "PMID:32060566",
    "PMID:23525894",
    "PMID:42268593",
    "PMID:19937427",
    "PMID:33030563",
    "PMID:35465686",
    "NIH ODS",
    "PMID:16801507",
    "PMID:29582044",
    "PMID:19082528",
    "PMID:19113922",
    "PMID:11960685",
    "PMID:18922041"
  ]
}