Phylloquinone content of herbs, spices and seasonings

In this study, we analyzed the phylloquinone content of a large number of commonly available culinary herbs, spices, and seasonings. Samples of fresh herbs (n =19), dried herbs (n =28), spices and seeds (n =26), seasoning blends (n =9), and other flavor enhancers (n =11) were purchased in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) and Washington (DC, USA). All samples were analyzed in quadruplicate using standardized HPLC procedures. Most fresh herbs contained between 450 and 1200μg of phylloquinone/100g. Dried herbs were even richer with some (cilantro, marjoram, parsley) showing concentrations of ≈3000μg/100g. Phylloquinone content of spices and seeds was relatively low (5–250μg/100g), while being highly variable among seasoning blends (2.3–1878μg/100g). According to our results, portions of only 3g of herbs can increase daily intakes of phylloquinone by up to 100μg, contributing significantly to the daily vitamin K intake. Herbs can thus be important food sources of phylloquinone and should be accounted for when assessing vitamin K intakes in research or in patients treated with vitamin K antagonists. Future research should focus on the bioavailability of phylloquinone in these products.
Source: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis - Category: Food Science Source Type: research