Could CBDs Be A Next-Gen Antibiotic?

To add to the multitude of growing uses for the natural plant researchers from the University of Queensland in collaboration with Botanix Pharmaceuticals have found that cannabidiol is remarkably effective at killing a variety of Gram positive bacteria, including some bacteria that have become resistant to other antibiotics. 

Cannabidiol has been found to be active against certain bacteria that are responsible for many serious infections including Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, with a potency similar to antibiotics such as daptomycin and vancomycin. 

According to leady investigator Mark Blaskovich, PhD, “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. The combination of inherent antimicrobial activity and potential to reduce damage caused by the inflammatory response to infections is particularly attractive.”

“We assessed the antimicrobial activity of synthetically produced cannabidiol, free from isolation-dependent impurities that may confound biological testing results obtained with plant extracts. Cannabidiol was tested in a suite of standard antimicrobial assays, starting with broth microdilution assays against a range of aerobic and anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria. Time-kill, resistance induction, and biofilm disruption experiments were also conducted, along with an assessment of in vivo activity against MRSA in a murine neutropenic thigh infection model.”

Cannabidiol was found to retain its activity against bacteria that have become resistant to other antibiotics, and under extended exposure to conditions that lead to resistance against certain antibiotics cannabidiol did not lose effectiveness. The cannabidiol was also effective at disrupting biofilm bacteria growth that leads to difficult to treat infections. 

Based on their findings reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology the researchers concluded, “Cannabidiol was remarkably effective at killing a range of Gram-positive (but not Gram-negative) bacteria, with broth microdilution MICs similar to clinical antibiotics such as vancomycin and daptomycin. Notably, activity was retained against-resistant strains of S. aureus (MRSA, VISA, VRSA), Streptococcus pneumoniae (MDR), and E. faecalis (VRE). Cannabidiol was bactericidal, showed low levels of propensity to induce resistance, and was active against MRSA biofilms.”