Context:  

Scientists at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu, have found that phytocannabinoids, a class of compounds found in the cannabis plant, possess some hitherto unexplored antibiotic properties. 

THCBD and Its Antibiotic Properties

• In the new study, published in the journal ACS Infectious Diseases revealed, the antibacterial properties of tetrahydrocannabinol (THCBD), a semisynthetic phytocannabinoid, against Staphylococcus aureus, the bacteria responsible for the second most number of deaths due to AMR.

• According to a senior principal scientist at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, bacteria have developed certain sophisticated ‘shields’ over many decades to resist the effects of antibiotic medications.
  • These include the formation of biofilms – thin sheets of bacterial colonies that are more resistant to antibiotics than when separated – and cellular mechanisms called efflux pumps that flush drugs out from cells.
• The resulting AMR increases the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.

What is India’s AMR burden?

• AMR Capital of the World: According to one estimate, India reported 2.97 lakh deaths in 2019 that could be attributed to AMR and 10.42 lakh others that could be associated with AMR.
• Reasons:  
• • Overuse of antibiotics in India (Due to Over-the-counter sales).
  • Misuse in animal husbandry
  • Poor Biowaste disposal management.

Need for Alternative Solutions

• Numerous antibiotics exist for S. aureus, the emergence of the MRSA strain necessitates alternative solutions.
• “S. aureus includes a strain known as MRSA, for methicillin-resistant S. aureus, resistant to the last line of antibiotics called methicillin.’’

How is THCBD made?

• The prefix ‘phyto’ in phytocannabinoid means it comes from a plant.
• Cannabinoids are a class of compounds found in the cannabis plant.  Cannabinoids bind to receptors in the bodies of animals to produce a variety of neurological effects.
• The researchers extracted cannabidiol from a cannabis plant and made it react with hydrogen, using palladium as a catalyst. 
• This process yielded a mixture of molecules with the same composition and order of atoms but different structures. One of them was THCBD.

What Were THCBD’s Effects?

• Researchers tested THCBD against bacterial cultures in the lab and found THCBD “demonstrated strong effectiveness” against efflux pump overexpression and MRSA strains.
• The minimum quantity found to be efficacious against a strain of Gram-positive S. aureus used commonly in AMR research was 0.25 μg/ml, which the researchers called “potent”.
• It “significantly reduced” the number of viable microbial cells of S. aureus skin infections in mice.
• They also found that the compound either complemented or was indifferent to the effects of other common antibiotics like mupirocin, penicillin G, and ciprofloxacin.

Significance of Study

• It will help the development of new therapeutics against AMR.
• It can be a good preclinical candidate, which needs further fine-tuning as far as its drug likeness is concerned

Challenges

• Collaboration and Coordination: THCBD comes from cannabis, which is notorious for its intoxicating properties.

• • As a result, it hasn’t been easy to collaborate on phytocannabinoid research with other institutes.
• Legal Constraints:  There is a need to adhere to specific regulations when studying this plant.
  • For example, Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 restricts the use of cannabis and doesn’t make exceptions for research.
• Lack of  Approval to Conduct Research: Many universities lack approval to research the plant, and efforts are underway to secure government authorisation.
• The solubility challenge of THCBD: THCBD “leans slightly towards lipophilicity”, achieving a “drug-like” balance is crucial for it to be appropriately soluble.

Way Forward: What next for THCBD?

• Collaborations to speed up drug development progress: Faster approval and dispersal of funds.
• Unified National Policy: Establishing a framework  for cannabis research and transportation agreement 
• Conducting a comprehensive safety profile assessment for THCB to  use as a drug.

Conclusion

Highlighting the anti-bacterial nature of cannabis, the project will go a long way towards circumventing the taboo around it and transforming it into a valuable resource. 

• The researchers’ work on cannabis will “yield significant contributions to the healthcare system,” “but will also directly benefit J&K by establishing related industries that will create a sustainable demand for jobs.”