The Controversy Over Menadione in Dog Food

by Mike Sagman
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Yes or No for Menadione in Dog Food?Some call menadione in dog food a necessity. Yet others reject it as a dangerous toxin.

So, what exactly is menadione?  And why is it being used to make certain dog foods… and not others?

Menadione is actually a vitamin. It’s the man-made version of an essential nutrient commonly known as vitamin K… more precisely, vitamin K3.

But K3 is just one of five known versions of vitamin K. The three most common ones found in dog food are…

  • Vitamin K1 – naturally found in green leafy vegetables
  • Vitamin K2 – produced by bacteria living inside a dog’s gut
  • Vitamin K3 – menadione, the man-made synthetic version

Vitamins K1 and K2 are considered natural. 

That’s why, in addition to being fat soluble, they’re also chemically ready to be used by the body… just as they are.

But vitamin K3 is synthetic. So, all forms of the chemical must first undergo the cellular process of alkylation before they can be used by the body.1

So, What’s So Important
About Vitamin K

Vitamin K is used by the liver to produce various clotting factors… chemical compounds designed to stop or control bleeding.

So, how much vitamin K does a dog need?

Well, according to one authority, not much.  A dog needs very little Vitamin K per serving to sustain life… just one part per million.2

And the vitamin isn’t even listed as a required dog food ingredient in the nutrient profiles established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials.3

The controversy over menadione appears to center around two opposing views.

Menadione… a Nutritional Necessity?

Supporters4 see menadione as a necessary additive… an critical supplement dog food companies should feel compelled to include in their product recipes. 

Defenders favor the use of menadione because…

  • Natural vitamin K may lose its potency during processing
  • Intestinal disease can prevent gut bacteria from making the vitamin
  • Not all manufacturers include green leafy vegetables in their recipes

Advocates also claim menadione should be considered safe because toxic levels are a thousand times greater than the recommended daily dose.

So, many companies routinely choose the vitamin K supplement most readily available… menadione.

Or a Dangerous Toxin?

Critics5 see menadione as only a precursor to the vitamin’s more natural versions. They cite studies that make some disturbing claims. They worry that menadione…

  • Causes toxic reactions in liver cells
  • Weakens the immune system
  • Induces allergic reactions
  • Causes abnormal break-down of red blood cells

One company selling menadione warns its human buyers that menadione is “toxic to kidneys, lungs, liver, mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organ damage.”6

University Report on Vitamin K

According to a peer-reviewed article published in 2004 by the Linus Pauling Institute at the Oregon State University:7

“Although allergic reaction is possible, there is no known toxicity associated with high doses of the phylloquinone (vitamin K1) or menaquinone (vitamin K2) forms of vitamin K8. The same is not true for synthetic menadione (vitamin K3) and its derivatives. Menadione can interfere with the function of glutathione, one of the body’s natural antioxidants, resulting in oxidative damage to cell membranes. Menadione given by injection has induced liver toxicity, jaundice, and hemolytic anemia (due to the rupture of red blood cells) in infants9; therefore, menadione is no longer used for treatment of vitamin K deficiency10. No tolerable upper level of intake has been established for vitamin K.”

The FDA has banned the use of menadione from over-the-counter supplements because large doses have been shown to cause these dangerous biological effects.11

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to spot menadione in a dog food recipe. That’s because manufacturers frequently list the vitamin in rather cryptic fashion.

Here are some common chemical names for menadione that can show up on a dog food ingredients list.

  • Menadione sodium bisulfate
  • Menadione sodium bisulfite
  • Menadione dimethylprimidinol sulfate
  • Menadione dimethylprimidinol sulfite
  • Menadione dimethylprimidinol bisulfite
  • Dimethylprimidinol sulfate
  • Dimethylprimidinol sulfite
  • Dimethylprimidinol bisulfate
  • Vitamin K supplement

And watch out! You might even come across menadione hiding behind innocent little phrases like one that refers to it as… “a source of vitamin K activity”.

The Bottom Line

So, what should you do when you find dog food recipes containing menadione?

Until there’s a peer-reviewed scientific study proving the safety of menadione, I’d recommend shoppers give preference to products that don’t contain this potentially dangerous ingredient.

Notes and Updates

04/27/2011 Article updated

  1. Menadione Fact Sheet ↩
  2. National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences ↩
  3. Official Publication (2008 Edition), Association of American Feed Control Officials, pp. 131-132 ↩
  4. Aldrich PhD, Greg, “Vitamin K3 – Is It Unnecessary and Toxic?”, www.petfoodindustry.com ↩
  5. Contreras, Sabine, http://www.DogFoodProject.com ↩
  6. Menadione sodium bisulfite, ScienceLab.com, Houston, TX ↩
  7. Jane Higdon, PhD, Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University (2004); updated Victoria Drake, Ph.D.,
    Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University (2008), peer-reviewed by Sarah Booth, Ph.D., Director, Vitamin K Research Program, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Vitamin K and the Newborn Reviewed by Dennis T. Costakos, M.D. F.A.A.P., Franciscan Skemp Healthcare-Mayo Health System, Mayo Medical School ↩
  8. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Vitamin K. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press; 2001:162-196 ↩
  9. Ferland G. Vitamin K. In: Bowman BA, Russell RM, eds. Present Knowledge in Nutrition. 9th ed. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: ILSI Press; 2006:220-230 ↩
  10. Olson RE. Vitamin K. In: Shils M, Olson JA, Shike M, Ross AC, eds. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th ed. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1999:363-380 ↩
  11. Vitamin K Toxicity, Wikipedia, 4/27/2011 ↩
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  • http://www.allvetmed.com/Vetmedin-p/vet5.htm vetmedin 5mg price

    Dogs like us humans require a balanced diet, so a mixture of meat, vegetable and quality grains, and premium dog food provides these nutrients without adding any inexpensive and poor ingredients. It’s important to check the labels on products before you buy and you can always turn to other pet owners.

  • smarine777

    I just sat here, typing in a long message, to only have this real time updating CRASH IE 9. Maybe its IE9s fault, no idea, but please consider looking at your web design.

     

    We had a aussie/cattle dog mix, and we lost him from what, for sure, we do not know. The vets couldn’t give us a direct reason, not that in all cases they can.

     

    He was on delmonte’s natures recipe vegetarian for quite sometimes, a few years or so, and I suspect the Menadione caused his decline, which amounted to liver failure and Jaundice, and God knows what else was going on …

     

    I stumbled upon Sabine’s, and given her credentials, I felt some possible answers coming along.

     

    The pet food industry should be ashamed for using chemicals in our companions food, that most people would be uneducated about, at least in the timeframe that matters the most, – durning the feeding, and the trust of the company you’re buying it from.  I will never again be so naive as to believe that, and will always look ,even more carefully, at said labels.

     

    I contacted the vet hospital we took him to, and though a represenative of corporation itself promised he would send sabine’s page ( and others I had found) to this vet hospital, apparenty that did not happen, as calling them, the clerk found no information related to any of this, in Roc’s file.

     

    I can’t begin to elaborate, how frustrated and honestly hurt I feel atm, that though Roc now is gone, and the money we SPENT to try to save him ( and I would spend it again, and 2,2,10 times as much if needed as he was FAMILY to us ) , that now given we can’t line their pockets with more money , we dont’ seem to be important anymore, that or the corporate person I spoke to, was inept.  That’s what it feels like, given I was told the ‘information’ would be passed on from him to the vet clinic,,I wondered why almost a month later, no contact, of any kind. That’s why , imho, capitalism just doesn’t work. Often money &/or influence holds you back, if you do not have alot of both, and I don’t know about anyone else,  but god has no billboards in space or elsewhere, demanding ‘money for services rendered’, as I guess god could make a cool mint for charging for the universe. If that sounds strange to you, given so many are in poverty these days, and if not , in one way or another controled by the circumstances of their own finances, then maybe its time we had a dialogue in this country, and paid more attention to the non violent demonstrations in our lands stating similar things. All our companion animals deserve better, but corporations will resist, until our voice is large enough. A society is known, by how it treats the least of its members, and I can’t stand tall beside these compassion giants, by doing any less; out of both duty & responsibility,  but also compassion. If we do not offer our voice , today for those who have little, or none at all, then how do we argue that ours is for the keeping…

    Roc deserved better, we deserve better, and I will not rest until the pet food industry stops shipment of Menadione, and knowing there are no peer reviewed studies proving its safety ( fda won’t even allow it in human food), and that people like Sabine ( given her credentials) have my proverbial back, is enough for me to know I’m on the right track.

    Thanks for listening, in Roc’s memory
    http://www.therocfund.org
    ^ website in progress, not setup yet.

     

     

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  • Sebaker89

    Thank you all so much. He was here just seven short years but forever in my heart.

  • Jan_Mom2Cavs

    I’m so sorry for your loss.  It is such a hard thing to go through. :(  I recently (in August) lost my male Shitzu Poodle mix to Hemolytic Anemia.  Devastating illness and I’m still hurting.  He was also eating premade raw (not Darwin’s) plus kibble and canned, HOWEVER, I don’t attribute his illness to that…..some of my other dogs are older and are still eating it with no issues.  He did have lots of issues, though.  I feel he had an undiagnosed thyroid (long story) issue. He did have acute pancreatitis once.  He also had pica.  I feel he was in the throes of a pancreatitis episode that caused the anemia.  We did everything we could, as I know you did.  I will always remember my “Boobala”…his actual name was Desi and I’m sure your little pup will always hold a place in your heart. 

  • Alexandra

    Sorry for your loss.

  • Marie

    That’s so sad…thinking of you. :(

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