756 XII. VITAMINS K 



a. The Role of Vitamin K in Bacterial Growth. At least one micro- 

 organism, Johne's bacillus {Mycohacterium paratuberculosis) , which causes 

 chronic dysentery in cattle, responds with increased growth when vitamin 

 K, phthiocol, or methyl naphthoquinone is added to the synthetic medium 

 upon which the bacteria are grown.^"* On the other hand, Glavind and 

 Dam^' were unaljle to confirm the growth-stimulating effect of methyl- 

 naphthoquinone or of phthiocol on a related (Danish) strain of this bacte- 

 rium. 



Vitamin K was found by Iland^'^ to exert a growth-depressing action on 

 Mycohacterium tuberculosis. Methylnaphthohydroquinone diphosphate, 

 also, was reported to exhibit a bacteriostatic effect agahist this organism, 

 as were 2-methyl-4-amino-l-naphthol and the bisulfite addition compound.^^ 

 Dam^^ reviewed the various effect of ^'itamin K on caries, tumors, and 

 microorganisms. 



b. The Effect of Antibiotics. When animals are treated with sulfon- 

 amides, bacterial action is decreased and there is a concomitant reduction 

 in the synthesis of vitamin K. Thus, when sulfaguanidine or sulfasuxi- 

 dine was added to a synthetic diet free from ^•itamin K, a relatively rapid 

 onset of prothrombin deficiency was noted ;^^ this could be prevented by 

 the administration of vitamin K.^^'" 



(3) Occurrence in Animals 



Most animal products contain very little vitamin K, especially if it 

 has not been included in the diet. Both vitamins Ki and K2 may be stored 

 in the tissues; the type which is present will depend upon the source of 

 the vitamin. Thus, when abundant amounts of vitamin Ki are taken in 

 the food, vitamin Ki, will be the main form found m the tissues. On the 

 other hand, when the bulk of vitamin K stored can be traced to that 

 originating in the gut, vitamin Ko predominates in the tissues. Dam and 

 Sch0nheyder^^ reported that hog liver is the main source of vitamui K in 

 animal products, while chicken liver"*^'^^ and rat liver^^ contam very Uttle 



M D. W. WooUey and J. R. McCarter, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 4-5, :357-360 (1940) 



*^ J. Glavind and H. Dam, Physiologia Plantarum, 1, 1-4 (1948). 



" C. N. Hand, Nature, 161, 1010 (1948). 



" A. Kimler, J. BacterioL, 60, 469-472 (1950). 



" H. Dam, Ann. Rev. Biochem., 20, 265-304 (1951 ). 



^ S. Black, R. S. Overman, C. A. Elvehjem, and K. P. Link, ./. Biol. Chem., 145, 1 ST- 

 UB (1942). 



6« A. D. Welch and L. D. Wright, /. Nutrition, 25, 555-570 (1948). 



" H. G. Day, K. G. Wakim, M. M. Krider, and E. E. O'Banion, J. Nutrition, 26, 

 585-600(1943). 



58 H. Dam and F. Sch0nheyder, Biochem., J., 30, 897-901 (1936). 



