CBD as a new “Superbug” fighter? This marijuana component promises possibilities as antibiotics.

by druginc

CBD as a new "Superbug" fighter? This marijuana component promises potential as an antibiotic.

The search for new antibiotics has led researchers to a surprising candidate: the marijuana compound CBD.

“Superbugs” is a term used to describe strains of bacteria that are resistant to most of the antibiotics in common use today. Resistant bacteria that cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections and skin infections are just a few of the dangers we now face.

A new study finds that CBD, or cannabidiol, is "remarkably effective" at killing bacteria, at least in a test tube, the researchers said in the new study. The results showed that CBD had antibiotic effects against a number of so-called Gram-positive bacteria, including species of staph and strep bacteria, as well as strains that had become resistant to other antibiotic drugs.

However, the results are very preliminary and people absolutely must not treat self-infections with CBD at this time, the researchers said.

"It takes a lot more work to show that CBD would be useful for treating infections in humans," said lead author Mark Blaskovich of the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience's Center for Superbug Solutions in Brisbane, Australia. "It would be very dangerous to try to treat a serious infection with cannabidiol instead of one of the proven antibiotics," Blaskovich told Live Science.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a company that discovers drugs and conducts research into the use of synthetic cannabidiol for various skin conditions. The company also helped finance the study.

The work was presented in San Francisco on Sunday ASM Microbe, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology; the research has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CBD as a new antibiotic?

CBD has received a lot of attention in recent years for its potential to provide therapeutic effects without having the "high" that is often characteristic of marijuana. But so far, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, in America) has approved CBD only in prescription drug form for the treatment of rare forms of epilepsy in children.

In addition, studies suggest that CBD can have anti-inflammatory effects, but whether it also has full antibiotic effects is still unclear.

In the new study, the researchers tested whether a synthetically produced form of CBD could kill different types of bacteria.

In laboratory dish experiments, the synthetic CBD did just as well as the prescription antibiotics vancomycin and daptomycin in killing certain strains of Staphylococcus and Streptococcus bacteria. The compound even worked against strains of staph and strep bacteria that were resistant to vancomycin and daptomycin, the authors said.

CBD also showed activity against bacterial biofilms, which form when bacteria secrete proteins to form films on surfaces. These biofilms can cause infections that are difficult to treat.

Biofilms are a collection of one or more types of microorganisms that can grow on many different surfaces. Microorganisms that form biofilms include bacteria, fungi and protists. A common example of a biofilm is dental plaque, a slimy build-up of bacteria that forms on the surface of teeth.

Future research needed

Experts warned that many different connections antibiotic effects in laboratory dishes, known as “in vitro” experiments, but these findings do not always translate to humans.

"Just because CBD has antibiotic activity in an in vitro test doesn't mean it happens in the human body," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, who was not involved in the study. "Many different compounds ... have antibiotic activity in a Petri dish."

Many more studies will be needed to see if CBD can be used as an antibiotic in humans. Research will need to determine what dose is needed to kill bacteria in the body, whether this dose is safe, and how to administer the antibiotic, Adalja said.

Still, Adalja said the research is promising. "It is proof that there are many (as yet) untapped potential for research with CBD," he said.

The authors now plan to conduct animal studies to understand the types of infections CBD could treat, as well as how CBD could kill bacteria, Blaskovich said. In addition, Botanix is ​​planning a human clinical trial to test whether CBD can effectively remove Staphylococcus aureus bacteria on the skin before surgery, to prevent post-operative infections, he said.

Read more on LiveScience (EN, source)

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