Cannabis compound could be weapon in fight against superbugs

A compound made by cannabis plants has been found to wipe out drug-resistant bacteria and break down persistent films of the microbes, raising hopes for a new weapon in the fight against superbugs.

Scientists screened five cannabis compounds for their antibiotic properties and found that one, cannabigerol or CBG, was particularly potent at killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, one of the most common hospital superbugs.

a new study,
apocalyptic scenarios
In the study, the researchers describe how the rapid global spread of drug resistance, caused by microbes developing mutations that protect them against antibiotics, has driven an urgent need to explore new sources of drugs. Among antibiotics in use today, the newest date back to discoveries made more than 30 years ago.

list of drug-resistant bacteriaAcinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae.

Brown found that CBG and other cannabinoids did not work well against gram negative multi-drug resistant bugs. But the team went on to show that when CBG was used with small quantities of polymyxin B, an existing antibiotic that disrupts the outer membrane of gram negative bacteria, the cannabis compound wiped out the drug-resistant pathogens.

Cannabis
Mark Blaskovich, who studies antibiotic cannabis compounds at the University of Queensland, said cannabis seemed to be particularly rich in antibiotics, though other plants such as tea tree, garlic and the spices turmeric and curcurmin also contained antibacterials.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...inst-superbugs