menaquinone
/ˌmɛnəˈkwɪnəʊn
/noun [mass noun] Biochemistry
One of the K vitamins, a compound produced by bacteria in the large intestine and essential for the blood-clotting process. It is an isoprenoid derivative of menadione. Also called vitamin K2.When administered, vitamin K 3 is alkylated to one of the vitamin K 2 forms of menaquinone....
- The most common form of vitamin K2 in animals is menaquinone 4, produced by the processing of exogenous and bacterial naphthoquinones.
- The most common form of vitamin K in animals is menaquinone 4, produced by intestinal bacteria from exogenous naphthoquinones and transformed endogenously in our own cells.
Origin
1940s: from the chemical name me(thyl)-na(phtho)quinone.