PLT Health Solutions, Inc. announced that it will market menatto brand of Vitamin K2 (MK-7) manufactured by an edible oils producer J-Oil Mills (Tokyo, Japan) in North America for use in consumer products supporting cardiovascular health, bone health, and general health. menatto was developed in 1997, featuring the world's first fermentation technology to manufacture vitamin K2 from the traditional Japanese food natto. Since then, the ingredient has been the subject of ten human clinical trials covering bioavailability, bone health and cardiovascular health.

This makes menatto the world's most researched Vitamin K2. menatto Vitamin K2 is menaquinone-7 (MK-7) manufactured by J-Oil Mills in the Shizuoka district of Japan. It is made via a natural fermentation process using a bacterial strain of Bacillus subtilis isolated from the traditional fermented Japanese food natto.

Soy protein in the fermentation substrate has been removed in the process of refining Vitamin K2 oil, and it is therefore exempt from soy allergen declaration on the label. There are two broad categories of Vitamin K used in supplements. Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone or phytonadione) is the form found in plants, such as leafy green vegetables.

Vitamin K2 (menaquinone, such as MK-4 and MK-7) is found in animal and certain fermented foods. Menaquinones naturally have greater bioavailability. At least 50-60% of the circulating Vitamin K in the body is in the form of K2.

The MK-7 form of vitamin K2 is the most bioavailable form of Vitamin K. This was established by research done specifically on J-Oil Mills' MK-7. Human clinical trials with menatto have demonstrated higher bioavailability than MK-4, and more than seven times the bioavailability of vitamin K1, making menatto the most bioavailable vitamin K commercially available. Another study demonstrated that menatto is bioavailable in diverse delivery systems.