Newly published research on cannabidiol (CBD) suggests that the popular marijuana component could be a promising treatment for a common type of vaginal infection.
The report focuses on the bacterium Gardnerella vaginalis, which is found naturally in the vagina but can also cause vaginosis when out of balance with other microbes. In laboratory tests, CBD demonstrated antibacterial and antioxidant effects that weakened G. vaginalis and eliminated communities of the bacteria known as biofilms.
“Our study shows that CBD exhibits antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against G. vaginalis clinical isolates,” the new paper says, “and is thus a potential drug for the treatment of vaginosis caused by this bacterium.”
The article was published this month in a special issue of the journal Antibiotics dedicated to “Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity by Natural Compounds.” It was authored by a four-person team from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, also in Jerusalem, Israel.