Macquarie University researchers have found compounds derived from the Cannabis sativa plant can effectively combat fungal infections, including Athlete’s Foot (Tinea pedis).
Recent laboratory research indicates that compounds derived from the cannabis plant, specifically cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV), exhibit antifungal properties against Cryptococcus neoformans, a WHO-listed priority fungal pathogen responsible for severe infections like cryptococcal meningitis. In vitro (laboratory) studies have shown that these cannabinoids can inhibit the growth of this pathogen, suggesting potential avenues for developing new antifungal treatments. According to a media release by Macquarie University, the compounds also killed dermatophytes that cause common skin infections and much faster than existing treatments.
The study’s findings pave the way for potential new treatments for fungal infections. Published in The Journal of Neglected Tropical Diseases (PLOS NTDs), the research offers promising prospects for addressing these infections which can affect more than one billion people around the world each year. Whether it’s Athlete’s Foot, a yeast infection, or the potentially deadly lung infection, pneumocystis pneumonia, fungal pathogens are a serious health threat with relatively few effective treatments. Macquarie University’s Dr Hue Dinh, a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Natural Science, says one of the challenges in the research project was deciding which cannabinoids to test and against what.
Macquarie Medical School pharmacologist Professor Mark Connor joined in the quest to target the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, which causes deadly lung or brain infections including life-threatening meningitis with a mortality rate that is very high. The researchers found two cannabinoids—cannabidiol and cannabidivarin—that both quickly killed Cryptococcus neoformans in the laboratory, working even faster than current antifungal therapy. Against thirty-three other fungal pathogens from clinical, veterinary and environmental settings, the cannabinoids were effective in killing a range of Cryptococcus species as well as the fungal skin pathogens that cause Athlete’s Foot.
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4 July 2025