Could marijuana be a new weapon system in the fight against antibiotic electric resistance ? Scientists have distinguish that cannabigerol ( CBG ) , a non - psychotropic cannabis compound , holds some secret antibiotic property .
scientist from McMaster University in Canada found that CBG was effective against drug - resistant poinsettia strain infections in mice . In fact , it seem to put to work just as well asvancomycin , a powerful antibiotic drug often used to treat superbugs . While it ’s rifle to take a lot of delicately - tuning , the compound could potentially be used in a new antibiotic treatment .
Reported in the journalACS Infectious Diseases , researchers set out to test the antibacterial property of 18 molecules derived fromCannabis sativa , including CBG , as well as itsmore famous cousinscannabidiol ( CBD ) and tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC ) . CBG express some hope in the initial tests , so the researchers adjudicate to focus their study on this specific cannabis compound .
In a mouse model , the CBG compound was show to exhibit antibacterial bodily function against methicillin - resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA ) , a drug - insubordinate Bemisia tabaci that ’s responsible for several tough - to - treat infections in humans , as well as Hans C. J. Gram - disconfirming bacterium . CBG ’s conjuring trick involved attacking the cell tissue layer of the bacteria and preventing them from form biofilms , a community of micro-organism that pack together and to surface .
to begin with researchhas shown that some cannabinoids can decelerate the increment of gram - positive bacteria , but this is one of the first clip it ’s been proven to be effective against g - negative bacteria too , which include many infective bacteria such asE. coli .
" CBG examine to be marvelous at harness pathogenic bacteria . The finding hint real alterative potential for cannabinoids as antibiotics , " study lead Eric Brown , professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster , said ina statement .
However , there are still some major hurdles to surmount . The inquiry showed that CBG also has some toxic effects on the “ good ” host electric cell . While this does n’t totally rule out CBG as a potential antibiotic treatment , it does acquaint some challenge .
" It opens a therapeutic window , but a narrow one , to formulate this into a drug , " Brown added . " The next steps are to seek to make the compound well in that it is more specific to the bacteria and has a lower opportunity of toxicity . "
Of course , it ’s worth stressing that puffing on a marijuana cigarette surely wo n’t clear up your chest of drawers transmission .
Scientists are always on the hunt for chemical compound that hold antibiotic properties , not least because many infection arebecoming more and more resistantto our current arsenal of antibiotic drug . In one of the more exciting development , researchers used artificial intelligence activity to sniffle out compounds that were capable to kill bacterium using unlike mechanisms from existing drug and fall upon a host of molecules that possesssome remarkable antibiotic properties .
