Blood clotting is a vital process that prevents excessive bleeding when blood vessels are injured. The key components involved in this process include:
- Platelets (blood cells)
- Clotting factors (proteins in blood plasma)
- Vitamin K, which is essential for the synthesis of certain clotting factors (especially factors II, VII, IX, and X).
Vitamin K enables the liver to produce these proteins that help in coagulation (clotting) of blood. Without Vitamin K, the clotting mechanism becomes impaired, leading to excessive bleeding.
Thus, the vitamin responsible for proper blood clotting is:
\[
\boxed{\text{Vitamin K}}
\]