According to the CDC’s 2019 Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report, 3 million people are infected by superbugs, or drug-resistant bacteria, every year. That means, on average, someone in the United States is infected every 11 seconds, and every 15 minutes, someone dies from the infection. There’s no doubt that drug-resistant bacteria is a serious problem, and it keeps getting bigger. Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario believe they may have found a partial solution.
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The researchers found that cannabigerol (CBG) proved highly effective against a bacterium that infects around 1.2 million people each year — methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). According to the study they conducted, CBG, which is non-psychoactive, was able to destroy MRSA microbes and eliminate cells known as ‘persister’ cells, which contain components resistant to almost all antibiotics.
Lead study author, microbiologist Eric Brown, explained in the report, “Public Health agencies around the globe have identified antimicrobial resistance as one of the most critical challenges of our time. The rapid and global spread of antimicrobial-resistant organisms in recent years has been unprecedented.”
He continued, “Cannabis plants are important herbaceous species that have been used in folk medicine for centuries. Increasing scientific evidence is accumulating for the efficacy of its metabolites in the treatment, for example, of epilepsy, Parkinson disease, analgesia, multiple sclerosis, Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological diseases. At a very nascent stage are investigations into the potential of cannabis metabolites as antibacterial therapies.”
He went on to explain that cannabinoids exhibit antibacterial activity against MRSA, and CBG works against drug-resistant bacteria by targeting the cytoplasmic membrane. MRSA is known as a gram positive bacteria, which means it has a thick cell membrane. Thanks to CBG’s ability to penetrate through the membrane, researchers say they’ve discovered a promising lead for combating superbugs that they’d like to study further.