Researchers determine that cannabis has hidden antibiotic properties

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The cannabis plant can be a natural healing source for the body

The more research goes on to study the properties of the cannabis plant, the more benefits are discovered. It doesn’t matter if it is the whole plant or just one of its cannabinoids; it seems to be that cannabis can have a positive effect on a wide variety of health conditions. A group of researchers from McMaster University isolated several cannabinoids present in the plant, and one, cannabigerol (CBG), was discovered to have antibacterial properties. But that is not all, CBG was effective in fighting a dangerous bacteria known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The researchers published their findings in the journal American Chemical Society Infectious Diseases. “In this study, we investigated 18 commercially available cannabinoids and they all showed antibiotic activity, some much more than others,” said study lead Eric Brown, professor of biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster. “The one we focused on was a non-psychoactive cannabinoid called CBG, as it had the most promising activity. We synthesized that cannabinoid in mass quantity, which gave us sufficient compound to go deep into the research.”

It was observed that CBG not only had the capacity to prevent the bacteria to form biofilms – communities of microorganisms that attached to each other and surfaces – but it also destroyed any preformed biofilm, including those bacteria resistant to current antibiotics. Its effectiveness seems to come from the compound, acting directly on the cell membrane of the microorganism.

In the laboratory, mice with MRSA infection were given CBG. “CBG proved to be marvelous at tackling pathogenic bacteria,” Brown said. “The findings suggest a real therapeutic potential for cannabinoids as antibiotics. According to the researcher, these findings have a lot of potential for the development of new antibiotic medications.