A new step in the fight against global antibiotic resistance. Danish researchers show that CBD makes existing antibiotics much more powerful.
One of the biggest health problems of our time is that bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Help comes from an unexpected source. More and more scientists are showing that a powerful antibiotic is hidden in weed. Danish research shows that CBD can serve as a tool to make antibiotics much more powerful.
Antibacterial effect of cannabis
Antibiotics are medicines that help cure infections caused by bacteria. They kill the bacteria or inhibit their growth. But humanity is facing a huge problem: more and more bacteria no longer care about antibiotics. They become resistant, for example because we use them far too massively.
Scientists worldwide are therefore feverishly searching for new forms of antibiotics that still work. During this search, an unexpected candidate presents itself: weed. Various components in the cannabis plant are perfectly capable of killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Good news from Denmark
Several studies have been conducted worldwide on the antibacterial properties of cannabis. In the spring of 2020, Denmark entered the scene. Scientists from the University of Southern Denmark shared their findings on the use of CBD in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
In the Danish study, CBD was used as a 'helper compound' to enhance the effect of the antibiotic 'bacitracin' in a staph infection. The well-known hospital bacteria MRAS is also a staph. The infection causes health problems and often leads to hospital admissions.
“When we combined antibiotics and CBD, we saw a more powerful effect than when we used antibiotics alone. So we needed less antibiotics to kill a given number of bacteria,” Scientific Reports said.
Conclusion? “Cannabidiol is an effective adjuvant compound in combination with bacitracin to kill gram-positive cocci.”
The researchers found that CBD could help stop Staphylococcus aureus – a staph bacterium – from dividing. The strength of key genes in the bacteria was reduced and their membrane became unstable. This led to fewer antibiotics being needed for treatment.
Janne Kudsk Klitgaard, one of the scientists involved, says that combining antibiotics with adjuvants such as CBD could lead to less overall antibiotic use, which in turn could “contribute to the development of fewer resistant bacteria”.
So good news from Denmark that will hopefully soon lead to new research, clinical trials and ultimately an antibiotic based on cannabis.
