A new study claims cannabidiol (CBD), an active ingredient in cannabis and hemp plants, could help tackle antibiotic-resistant infections. Previous research has already found CBD can also help tackle epilepsy and anxiety.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea and salmonellosis have become extremely challenging to treat as most of the antibiotics that should works have become less effective.
For the study, researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) tested CBD on different types of bacteria, including those that tend to become resistant to antibiotics. The team stated that cannabidiol proved to be “remarkably effective” at killing a variety of bacteria.
Through their investigation, the team found CBD to be active against the bacteria known as staphylococcus, which causes strep throat. It was also active against a type of bacteria that make it difficult for antibiotics to get through. Researchers told also stated CBD had “a similar potency to established antibiotics such as vancomycin and daptomycin, and did not lose effectiveness after extended treatment.”
However, while CBD was effective against gram-positive bacteria, it did not yield the same results against gram-negative. Even though the research is in the preliminary stage,the findings are still significant and can have an impact on how antibiotic-resistant infections can be treated.“Given cannabidiol’s documented anti-inflammatory effects, existing safety data in humans, and potential for varied delivery routes, it is a promising new antibiotic worth further investigation,” study author Dr Mark Blaskovich, a senior researcher for the Centre for Superbug Solutions at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Blaskovich also warns against self-treating infections with CBD at this stage. "It needs a lot more work to show [that CBD] would be useful to treat infections in humans," Blaskovich told the website. "It would be very dangerous to try to treat a serious infection with cannabidiol instead of one of the tried and tested antibiotics," he told a news portal.
The study's findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Francisco (US).
