Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) can be produced by plants and algae, while vitamin K2 (menaquinones) is mainly from microorganisms. Since vitamin K2 is more difficult to obtain by diet alone than that of vitamin K1, it is recommended to use vitamin K2 supplements.

At present, there are three forms of vitamin K in dietary supplements: synthetic vitamin K1, synthetic menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and natural or synthetic menaquinone-7 (MK-7). Recent studies have shown that natural vitamin K2 (MK-7) is found to be a more effective form than vitamins K1 and MK-4. This is mainly due to it has greater bioavailability (good absorption) and better biological activity and longer half-life.

More specifically, vitamin K2 is different from vitamin K1 in its single molecular structure. It is composed of unsaturated side chains of isoprene like units and repeats from 1 to 14 in length. It is often seen that the term "vitamin K2 as menaquinone-7" or "MK-7" means that this menaquinone contains seven isoprene units.

Vitamin K1 has long been known as the "clotting" vitamin, because it helps keep the body's clotting mechanism working healthily. Vitamin K2 can activate inactive protein and keep our systems healthy.