Vitamin K
Overview
 
Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar, fat soluble vitamins that are needed for the posttranslational modification
Posttranslational modification
Posttranslational modification is the chemical modification of a protein after its translation. It is one of the later steps in protein biosynthesis, and thus gene expression, for many proteins....

 of certain proteins required for blood coagulation and in metabolic pathways in bone and other tissue. They are 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (3-)derivatives. This group of vitamins includes two natural vitamer
Vitamer
A vitamer of a particular vitamin is any of a number of chemical substances, each of which shows vitamin activity. Very commonly each "vitamin" is not a single chemical, but rather multiple chemical substances called vitamers, each of which is defined by its different biological activity.For...

s: vitamin K1 and vitamin K2.

Vitamin K1 is also known as vitamin Kj, phylloquinone
Phylloquinone
Phylloquinone is a polycyclic aromatic ketone, based on 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, with a 3-phytyl substituent.It is a fat-soluble vitamin that is stable to air and moisture but decomposes in sunlight. It is found naturally in a wide variety of green plants.-Terminology:It is often called...

 or phytomenadione (also called phytonadione).
Vitamin K1 is required for blood coagulation
Coagulation
Coagulation is a complex process by which blood forms clots. It is an important part of hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, wherein a damaged blood vessel wall is covered by a platelet and fibrin-containing clot to stop bleeding and begin repair of the damaged vessel...

 and is synthesized by plants, is found in green leafy vegetables, and can be found in soybean oil.

Vitamin K2 is involved in bone metabolism.
 
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