Menaquinone levels measured in many cheeses
What it found
Cheese and curd were the richest sources of long-chain menaquinones in the Western diet, but levels varied widely with cheese type, ripening time, fat content and where it was made.
This was a laboratory analysis of foods, not a study in people.
What they found
Cheese is main source
Cheese and curd were the most important sources of long-chain menaquinones in the Western diet. Hard cheeses were generally richer than soft cheeses.
Ripening increases menaquinones
In Dutch cheeses, very young cheeses had slightly less menaquinone than older ones, and after 13 weeks of ripening a plateau was reached. Full fat Gouda at 13 weeks had around 650 ng/g, while 4-week Gouda had 473 ng/g.
Fat content matters
Demi-fat cheese had lower menaquinone content (around 450 ng/g) regardless of ripening time, and low-fat cheese had not more than about 380 ng/g. Curd cheese contained between 94 and 140 ng/g, independent of fat content.
Country differences
Cheeses from Mediterranean countries were low in menaquinones, with Parmesan containing almost negligible amounts (3 ng/g). French Münster had the highest measured level at 801 ng/g, while Camembert and Roquefort had 681 ng/g and 381 ng/g.
Other foods low
Meat and fish contained mostly MK-4 and were not expected to contribute much to vitamin K status. Among vegetables, only fermented ones like natto and sauerkraut contained vitamin K2, with sauerkraut's total menaquinone content 200 times lower than natto's.
Forms of menaquinone
The main forms in dairy were MK-9, then MK-4 and MK-8. MK-10 was found only in Emmental cheese, likely from the Propionibacterium freudenreichii used in its starter.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion, we have found that cheese and curd are the most important sources of long-chain menaquinones in the Western diet but that the actual menaquinone content varies substantially and is dependent on the type of cheese, the time of ripening, the fat content and the geographic area where this is produced.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that cheese and curd are the most important sources of long-chain menaquinones in the Western diet, but that the actual content varies substantially with type, ripening, fat content and geographic area.
- They state that hard cheeses generally contain more menaquinones than soft cheeses.
- They suggest that cheese should be considered as a recommendable component in a heart-healthy diet, given that poor vitamin K status has been reported as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and there is no clear evidence for adverse cardiovascular effects of dairy fats.
How it was done
The authors wanted up-to-date data on how much menaquinone is in different cheeses, since cheese is the main source of these vitamins in the Western diet and these values are needed for food tables used in population studies.
They bought a wide range of Dutch and other European cheeses, plus some meat, fish and vegetables, in 2013 and measured their vitamin K content in the lab. Cheeses varied in fat content, ripening time and origin, and each sample was analysed twice.
What it can’t tell you
- This study measured menaquinone levels in foods in a lab. It did not test what eating these cheeses does to people's health.
- The cheese samples were bought in local stores in Maastricht, not in their countries of origin, so the values may not reflect cheeses from those places.
- The effect of ripening was tested in only one type of cheese, so it may differ in other cheeses.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- Maastricht University, The Netherlands
The paper
- Title
- Menaquinone Content of Cheese
- Type
- Study
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Vermeer C, Raes J, van 't Hoofd C, Knapen MHJ, Xanthoulea S (2018). Menaquinone Content of Cheese. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu10040446Free full textPubMed 29617314DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error