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Vitamin K Requirement and the Concentration of Vitamin K in Rat Liver¹

Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska 68105

The concentration of vitamin K was determined in the liver of different strains of rats, and in male and female warfarin-resistant rats by feeding ³H-vitamin K in a purified diet. In each case, the level of vitamin K in the liver correlated approximately with the amount of vitamin K fed. The results indicate that differences in the requirement for vitamin K between the sexes and between strains of rats are due principally to different required concentrations of vitamin K in liver and not to differences in absorption or turnover of the vitamin. The results of the determination of vitamin K epoxide levels in male and female warfarin-resistant rats, and other data, suggest that the amount of vitamin K required in liver may be in part due to differences in the activity of the enzyme, vitamin K epoxide reductase.

KEY WORDS: • vitamin K • warfarin-resistant rats • vitamin K epoxide • liver • male • female • dietary requirement

¹ These studies were supported in part by Contract NICHD 72-2787 from the National Institutes of Health.

² To whom reprint requests should be sent.

Manuscript received 11 December 1975.