Table 1.

Bacteriophage concentrations in ex vivo organs obtained from mice orally administered bacteriophages and the products of phage encapsulation (PPE).

Organ	Time (h)	Bacteriophage Concentration (log10 pfu/g) a	PPE
			Concentration (log10 pfu/g)a,b	Percentage (%) a
Stomach	3	7.6 ± 0.2	10.0 ± 0.2d	50 ± 8.2
	6	7.4 ± 0.6	9.9 ± 0.2d	53 ± 9.4
Intestine	3	9.0 ± 0.2	9.2 ± 0.1	0 ± 0.0
	6	9.4 ± 0.2	9.2 ± 0.2	0 ± 0.0
Liver	3	7.2 ± 0.4	6.6 ± 0.2	38 ± 6.3
	6	7.3 ± 0.6c	4.8 ± 0.7	23 ± 1.6
Spleen	3	6.6 ± 0.6c	4.4 ± 0.1	68 ± 8.6
	6	5.4 ± 0.5	5.1 ± 0.9	69 ± 7.6
Kidney	3	7.6 ± 0.3c	5.7 ± 0.2	0 ± 0.0
	6	6.5 ± 0.3c	4.0 ± 0.1	0 ± 0.0
Muscle	3	6.1 ± 0.2	4.9 ± 0.7	47 ± 7.4
	6	6.4 ± 0.6c	4.6 ± 0.4	47 ± 6.6
Plasma	3	4.9 ± 0.5	3.7 ± 0.9	21 ± 9.3
	6	5.1 ± 0.1	4.9 ± 0.3	17 ± 7.2

^aEach value is the average of four samples ± standard deviation. ^bValues obtained in samples treated with bile salts. ^cStatistically significant difference between non-encapsulated and encapsulated phages (P < 0.001 at 3 h in the spleen and kidney and at 6 h in the liver and kidney; P < 0.05 at 6 h in muscle). ^dStatistically significant difference between encapsulated and non-encapsulated phage (P < 0.001). The difference in the percentage of encapsulation at 3 and at 6 h was not significant.