Phylloquinone (vitamin K1) content of vegetables

Assessment of vitamin K (VK) dietary intakes has been limited by incomplete VK food composition data for the US food supply. The phylloquinone (VK-1 or vitamin K1) concentrations of a variety of geographically representative vegetables (n=218) were determined by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescent detection. Green leafy and flower vegetables including broccoli, broccoli raab, spinach, and certain lettuces, contained >100 μg phylloquinone/100 g vegetable. In contrast, raw tubers and roots contained <10 μg phylloquinone/100 g vegetable. Iceberg lettuce, a primary dietary source of phylloquinone, contained 24.1 μg phylloquinone/100 g vegetable, which is less than previously listed in nutrient databases. Potential factors affecting phylloquinone concentrations include processing and varietal type of leafy vegetables.