THURSDAY Sep 18, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study published in the journal Atherosclerosis suggests that high intake of vitamin K2 may reduce risk of atherosclerosis of the arteries or hardening of the arteries - a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The study of 564 women at an average age of 67 found that those with highest intake of vitamin K2 had 20 percent reduced arterial calcification.

For the study, Joline Beulens from the University Medical Center Utrecht and colleagues surveyed the subjects for their dietary habits and arterial calcification was assessed by a technique called multi-detector computed tomography.

They found those who had a high intake of vitamin K2 - about 45 micrograms per day -had 20 percent reduced arterial calcification than those with low intake of vitamin K2 or about 18 micrograms per day.

But no association was found between intake of K1 and reduced arterial calcification.

K1 (Phylloquinone) is the major form of vitamin K from a diet consisting of green leafy vegetables and vegetable oils such as soybean, cottonseed, canola, and olive while K2 (menaquinones) can be synthesized by bacteria that harbor in the large intestine, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.