1 Department of Nutritional Research, Mead Johnson Research Center, Evansville, Indiana 47721
Milk-substitute formulas have been implicated in hypoprothrombinemia in infants and the Committee on Nutrition, AAP, has recommended that those low in vitamin K be supplemented with vitamin K1. A recently developed chromatographic procedure was used to survey the amount of vitamin K1 in commercially available infant formula products. Milk-substitute formulas containing soy oil provided appreciable vitamin K, i.e., 79 to 118µg/liter (as fed), even without vitamin K1 added. Formulas to which vitamin K1 have been added contain from 118 to 256µg/liter. Milk-based formulas contain from 19 to 69µg/liter (depending on the type of oil used), but these have not been implicated in hypoprothrombinemia. According to chick bioassay, vitamin K1 added to infant formula products is biologically available.