Vitamin K2 and Staph SCVs

[Guest guest]

So I looked into this in more detail.

Vitamin K is a group of compounds.

Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is obtained mainly from plants.

Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) is produced mainly from bacteria,

including some that reside in our GI tract.

Vitamin K3 (menadione) is synthetic.

Supplements containing either K1 or K2 are obtainable for

human consumption. Vitamin K3 is for livestock.

High doses of K1 and K2 are said to be well tolerated, though K3

carries some risk.

Small colony variants (SCVs) of Staph have significantly

increased resistance to antibiotics and are an important cause

of persistent infection in the face of antibiotics.

In some cases, the SCVs can be forced to adopt their wild-type,

antibiotic-sensitive phenotype by the addition of menaquinone

(i.e., vitamin K2) or menadione (i.e., vitamin K3). My source for

this info is primarily the McNamara & Proctor paper I cited in the

previous post.

Supplementation with vitamin K2, then, may enhance the efficacy

of antibiotics against Staph.

Here's the " Can I please catch a break? " part of the story:

It is generally said, though the evidence is not unequivocal on

this, that we obtain vitamin K2 from the natural flora in our GI

tract. The same bacteria we decimate with antibiotics.

Anybody up for some Natto?

Matt

PS. My sources of info for vitamin K are here:

www.micronutrient.org/idpas/pdf/846.10-CHAPTER10.pdf

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs

/vit_0267.shtml

> Also, has Tarello said anything about supplementing with

> vitamin K during antibiotic use? This paper suggests its use:

>

> http://tinyurl.com/78b5p

>

> PMID: 10720801

>

> Apparently, menadione can reverse the SCV phenotype in

some

> cases and they said,

>

> " It was found that this effect [resistance of SCVs to antibiotics]

> could be reversed with the addition of menadione, suggesting

> that vitamin K may benefit patients being treated for SCV

> infections. "

>

>

> Thanks,

> Matt

>