Cannabigerol is effective at eliminating several strains of staphylococcus bacteria
The cannabis plant continues to surprise the medical community, as another recent study demonstrates the effectiveness of one specific cannabis compound in killing a variety of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Researchers at McMaster University in Canada have described how a lesser-known cannabinoid, cannabigerol (CBG), has been able to kill several strains of MRSA. The leader of the study, Eric D. Brown, went further than any other study has, and tested the compound in rodents, paving the way for future clinical trials.
Hospitals all around the world continue to face severe problems associated with MRSA, which has been responsible for many deaths in admitted patients. Actually, one in three people has the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus in their nose, but the big problem starts when these bacteria enter an open wound because it can lead to a deadly infection. Antibiotics have been effective in treating this type of infections, but the problem is that, over the years, these MSRA bacteria have become resistant to traditional treatments. The MRSA is not deadly; it usually created mild infections, but the real danger is for people with suppressed immune systems, which they are likely to be found in hospitals.
Out of the 18 cannabinoids tested, nearly all had positive antibacterial effects against the most common MRSA strains, but CBG is the one found most effective. One of the mutations that makes harder for the antibiotics to kill these bacteria is the biofilm that these cells develop for self-protection. CBG was effective not only in preventing the biofilm from forming but also can strip the bacteria cells from it, even at low concentrations. Additionally, CBG was also able to kill the bacteria described as ‘persisters’ which remain in latency while the antibiotic is in the body and reactivating later.