Research by scientists from the University of Queensland and Botanix Pharmaceuticals Limited sheds new light on the effects of cannabinoids on the human body. According to scientists, their discovery may lead to the creation of a new class of antibiotics that fight gram-negative bacteria causing, among others, meningitis, gonorrhea or legionellosis. It will be the first generation of antibiotics in 60 years to combat this type of bacteria. Synthetic CBD was used in the study.
In the study, "for the first time, CBD has been shown to kill certain types of Gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria have an extra outer membrane, an extra line of defense that makes it harder for antibiotics to penetrate, 'said Dr Blaskovich. Prof. extra. dr. Mark Blaskovich, who works at the UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience, claims that CBD, as one of the non-psychoactive components of cannabis, has the ability to penetrate and kill bacteria, including Neisseria gonorrhoeae, responsible for gonorrhea.
Over the last several decades, an increase in the number of infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been continuously recorded. WHO reports recorded the highest incidence rate in 2005-2008, reaching 21%. new cases in the world. On the European scale, these data are also not very optimistic. The increase in the incidence rate of gonorrhea in 2007-2011 increased by 19%, and in some European countries such as Greece, Portugal, Slovakia and Ireland, the number of cases increased by more than 50%.
"Cannabidiol showed a low tendency to induce resistance in bacteria, even as we accelerated potential growth by increasing antibiotic concentrations during" treatment. " We believe cannabidiol kills bacteria by disrupting their outer cell membranes, but we don't know exactly how it does it yet, and I need more research. This is especially exciting because no new molecular classes of antibiotics for Gram-negative infections have been discovered and approved since the 1960s, and now we can consider designing new CBD analogues with improved properties. ' - we read in the press release of Dr. Blaskovich.
Botanix President Vince Ippolito described research as “the breakthrough the world needs right now. […] The published data clearly show the potential of synthetic cannabinoids as antimicrobial agents. […] Our company is now prepared to commercialize effective antimicrobial therapies that we hope will reach more patients in the near future. ”
Last year, a team of scientists led by prof. extra. Dr. Marek Blaskovich confirmed that CBD can be safely used as a powerful antibiotic in the fight against gram-positive bacteria, but no similar effects have been seen with gram-negative bacteria. The results of the current research leave no doubt that CBD will be extremely helpful in the fight against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
