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In vitro and in vivo gastrointestinal survival of Salmonella bacteriophages – Bacteriophage therapy in poultry

The use of bacteriophages as therapeutic agents is gaining momentum in the fight against bacterial infections, and this recent study highlights their potential to combat Salmonella.

The researchers found that microencapsulation of the phage in an oral dosage form helped protect it from the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, increasing its survival and effectiveness.

This discovery could potentially lead to improved treatments for Salmonella infections in poultry and other animals. It also demonstrates the versatility of bacteriophage therapy, as it can be tailored to different delivery systems and adapted to different environments in the body.

The more research that is done, the more bacteriophage therapy could become a valuable tool in combating bacterial infections.

The authors Laura Lorenzo-Rebenaque, Danish J Malik, Pablo Catalá-Gregori, Clara Marin, and Sandra Sevilla-Navarro published their research in the article In Vitro and In Vivo Gastrointestinal Survival of Non-Encapsulated and Microencapsulated Salmonella Bacteriophages: Implications for Bacteriophage Therapy in Poultry, dated 6 May 2021.

Topics:

  • The therapeutic use of bacteriophages is recognized as a viable method of controlling Salmonella.
  • Microencapsulation of phages in oral dosage forms can protect phages from the inherent challenges of the gastrointestinal tract in chickens.
  • The main objective of this study was to evaluate the survival of Salmonella BP FGS011 (unencapsulated and microencapsulated) in the gastrointestinal tract under in vitro and in vivo conditions after oral administration to 1-day-old chicks.
  • Phages encapsulated in either formulation were able to survive exposure to proventriculus stomach in vitro, whereas free phages did not.
  • In addition, phages formulated in the polymer Eudragit ® S100 are better at delivering phages to the caeca of chickens.
Salmonella bacteriophages - Bacteriophage Therapy in Poultry

Abstract

The therapeutic use of bacteriophages is recognized as a viable method to control Salmonella.

Microencapsulation of phages in oral dosage forms may protect phages from inherent challenges of the gastrointestinal tract in chickens.

Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the survival of Salmonella BP FGS011 (non-encapsulated and microencapsulated) through the gastrointestinal tract under in vitro as well as in vivo conditions after oral administration to 1-day-old chicks.

To this end, the phage FGS011 was encapsulated in two different pH-responsive formulations with polymers Eudragit® L100, and Eudragit® S100 using the process of spray drying.

Phages encapsulated in either of the two formulations were able to survive exposure to the proventriculus-gizzard in vitro conditions whereas free phages did not.

Moreover, phages formulated in polymer Eudragit ® S100 would be better suited to deliver phage to the caeca in chickens.

In the in vivo assay, no statistically significant differences were observed in the phage concentrations across the gastrointestinal tract for either the free phage or the encapsulated phage given to chicks.

This suggested that the pH of the proventriculus/gizzard in young chicks is not sufficiently acidic to cause differential phage titre reductions, thereby allowing free phage survival in vivo.

Keywords: Eudragit ®; Salmonella; bacteriophages; encapsulation; poultry.

Copyright: the authors.