Final answer:
Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting, bone mineralization, and is synthesized by liver and gut bacteria. Deficiency can cause prolonged bleeding, especially in newborns, hence supplementation is important. Good sources include green leafy vegetables and some animal products.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rationale for the administration of Vitamin K lies in its crucial biochemical role in the blood clotting process. This fat-soluble vitamin is essential for the synthesis of several clotting factors produced by the liver, as well as for the carboxylation of glutamate residues in proteins to form gamma-carboxyglutamate. Vitamin K is required for the formation of prothrombin, an important protein in blood clotting, and it increases the activity of many clotting factors in the body. It also contributes to bone mineralization and works in synergy with vitamin D.
Deficiency of Vitamin K can lead to increased clotting time and decreased blood prothrombin levels, which may result in continuous bleeding. Newborn infants are particularly at risk for vitamin K deficiency because they have sterile intestines that lack the bacteria to produce vitamin K, and their mothers’ milk may have low vitamin K content if the mothers’ diet is deficient in this nutrient. To prevent hemorrhagic complications, particularly during delivery, vitamin K administration is essential.
Sources of Vitamin K include green leafy vegetables such as cabbage and spinach, which predominantly contain vitamin K1, while vitamin K2 is produced by bacteria in the human intestine. Moreover, the absorption of this vitamin is facilitated by the ions in the colon, which can be complementary to the vitamin K synthesized by gut bacteria.