Vitamin K in human milk--still not enough

The breastfed infant has limited sources of vitamin K, as it is transmitted poorly across the placenta and is present in very low concentrations in human milk. The author of this paper reports a concentration of vitamin K in human milk (0.517 ± 1.521 μg/dl) that is about twice the average of earlier reports (0.25 μg/dl). About half of the increased concentration (0.235 ± 0.144 μg/dl) is accounted for by vitamin K ₂ (menaquinone) rather than vitamin K ₁ (phylloquinone); the latter generally thought to be more important in human nutrition. The significance of these findings is discussed.