Potential applications of cannabis plant extracts and phytochemicals as natural antimicrobials

Cannabis has been used to treat human diseases for millennia. However, scientific research on its properties has been relatively recent. The spread of antibiotic resistance among human and animal pathogens has stimulated a renewed search for alternative antimicrobial therapies from this and other plant sources. It is further possible that Cannabis extracts or purified cannabinoids could find their way into novel medical applications. Industrial hemp extracts could also be potentially used in food manufacturing (for example, to control biofilms or food packaging), for veterinary purposes, or for microbial control in cleaners and sanitizers. This review highlights the latest findings of Cannabis plant extracts and phytochemicals as new classes of potent antimicrobial agents and their mode of action against different microorganisms, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. More importantly, the challenges of using cannabinoids as effective and affordable natural antimicrobial agents are reviewed. While antimicrobial and other applications of Cannabis extracts and phytochemicals (in general) look promising, there are also limitations, particularly around their possible toxic side effects. Accordingly, future research directions are proposed in this report. More research is needed to address the safety of these compounds, determine their activity in vivo, and define structural changes that influence their pharmacokinetic properties. Importantly, standardized tests will be essential to enable valid inter-laboratory comparisons. Future directions in research for developing novel broad-spectrum antibiotics based on Cannabis are discussed in this review article.