Compounds derived from the cannabis plant could soon be used against common skin infections such as athlete’s foot, according to joint research by three Australian universities.
In findings rolled out in the The Journal of Neglected Tropical Diseases, the team revealed that cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV) can kill Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungal pathogen that can cause meningitis, as well as tackle more common irritants such dermatitis.
Based at Macquarie University, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, the team said in their paper that they had uncovered “promising antifungal properties of the phytocannabinoids CBD and CBDV against select fungal pathogens.”
“When Cryptococcus neoformans gets to your central nervous system, it causes life-threatening meningitis. The mortality rate is very high, and it’s really hard to treat,” said Macquarie’s Hue Dinh.
The team said weed extracts could be used to tackle the “potentially deadly” lung infection pneumocystis pneumonia as well as “against wider Cryptococcus strains, various other yeasts, and moulds including common dermatophytes.”
Around one billion people worldwide are affected by fungus-caused infections such as athlete’s foot each year, the team said, citing data from the US government’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Hundreds of natural compounds can be extracted from the cannabis plant, and we don’t know which ones work,” said Dinh, who along with Macquarie colleague Amy Cain is working on developing an over-the-counter cannabis-based topical treatments for common skin infections,
“If we can demonstrate that these ones work well for common infections, you could actually just get some CBD oil and then rub it on your skin to treat it,” Dinh said.
The need for new treatments for fungal diseases is growing, according to the team, which warned of “icreasing incidence of antifungal resistance globally.”
In April, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) warned that resistance to antifungal drugs is “on the increase.”
Compounds derived from the cannabis plant could soon be used against common skin infections such as athlete’s foot, according to joint research by three Australian universities. In findings rolled out in the The Journal of Neglected Tropical Diseases, the team revealed that cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV) can kill Cryptococcus neoforman… Read More
