CBD as an Antibiotic?

There are many benefits of CBD oil that we know of, but a new study has revealed another fantastic use case. Cannabidiol, aka CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabis derivative, can fight bacteria or superbugs that have become resistant to common antibiotics, and may be the next superbug fighter for resistant infections, a new study suggests.

The threat of superbugs is nothing new – it is a growing global concern in healthcare since 2015. Bacteria have mutated into these superbugs by becoming resistant to drugs, making many antibiotics ineffective. This means that these antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become nearly impossible to treat. There’s a pressing urge to come up with drugs that are able to fight the infections but won’t further contribute to this resistance problem.

Researchers tested CBD against a wide variety of bacteria, ”including bacteria that have become resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics,”  said Mark Blaskovich, PhD. He presented research at the American Society for Microbiology annual meeting. The research includes work in test tubes and animal models. Research presented at meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.”The first thing we looked at is CBD’s ability to kill bacteria,” he says. “In every case, CBD had a very similar potency to that of common antibiotics.”The researchers tested the CBD against some strains of staphylococcus, which cause skin infections, and streptococcus, which cause strep throat.

The study findings are very promising, as CBD can stop bacteria from sticking to its host and thus forming resistance.

The two types of bacteria affected by CBD are gram-positive. They cause various conditions, including pneumonia and skin diseases. Unfortunately, CBD isn’t effective against gram-negative bacteria like salmonella or E.coli, which can cause diarrhea, stomach ache, and fever. However, there’s still too little research on that, and there are preliminary studies that show the perspective of the CBD use against some gram-negative bacteria.

As mentioned the findings are preliminary and more research is required to learn more about the benefits of CBD as an antibiotic, but we are excited to see what these studies will bear!