CBD oil kills gonorrhoea bacteria, potential for ‘much-needed new class of antibiotics’

Groundbreaking new research has found synthetic cannabidiol can kill bacteria associated with gonorrhoea, meningitis and legionnaires disease.

Centre of Superbug Solutions Director Dr Mark Blaskovich with an agar plate containing the chemical structure of CBD drawn with aureus bacteria (MRSA). Picture: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland

Groundbreaking new research has found synthetic cannabidiol can kill bacteria associated with gonorrhoea, meningitis and legionnaires disease.

The research, published in a peer-reviewed journal article in Communications Biology on Wednesday, explores antimicrobial activity of CBD and the potential to advance CBD analogs as a “much-needed new class of antibiotics”.

It found the psychoactive component of cannabis could kill a subset of gram-negative bacteria including neisseria gonorrhoeal, which causes gonorrhoea, Australia’s second most common sexually-transmitted disease.

Australian Stock Exchange-listed company Botanix, who are behind the new trials in partnership with University of Queensland’s Centre for Superbug Solutions, described the research as a new class of antimicrobial drugs.

Centre for Superbug Solutions Director Dr Mark Blaskovich said CBD has long been of interest and it had been used in clinical trials of acne and atopic dermatitis.

“There were previous reports of antibacterial properties in CBD but little follow up. CBD is quite effective at disrupting and killing bacteria in biofilm,” he said, noting that bacteria biofilm is a slimy build-up much like “dental plaque on the surface of teeth”.

The research arrives at a time when antimicrobial resistance – which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites develop and no longer respond to medicine – is projected to cost a further $1.2 trillion USD in expenditure by 2050, according to World Health Organisation which wrote last year that “new antibacterials are urgently needed”.

“Unfortunately over the last 20 years almost every major pharmaceutical company has exited from antibody discovery and development,” said Dr Blaskovich.

“Antimicrobial resistance is a serious risk to human health. Predictions by 2050 are that there will be 10 millions deaths per year.

“If we don’t start doing the research now by the time it reaches pandemic levels, it’s going to be too late.”

Dr Blaskovich’s team also advocates to stop the misuse of antibiotics which can be incredibly dangerous with producing AMR.

He said while the new research is promising, off-the-shelf CBD would not work in the same regard when mixed, calling for people not to self medicate.

Botanix Pharmaceuticals executive director Matt Callahan said the discovery comes at a time when “the problem of bacterial resistance is a really big international health problem”.

“The next one that’s probably going to come along is a bacterial pandemic,” he said.

“All we’ve been doing is recycling the same antibiotics that we’ve had forever.”

Callahan also said the results of a 60-patient study tested against surgical infections across multiple clinics in Western Australia will be announced in a few weeks, Callahan said.