The Effect of Cannabidiol on the Growth of Saprolegnia ferax

Saprolegniasis is an epidermal disease caused by a genus of water molds called Saprolegnia. It impacts freshwater fish and eggs. Oomycetes are filamentous, unicellular protists, very similar to fungi. However, they are not true fungi because they have cellulose instead of chitin in their cell wall (McGowan & Fitzpatrick, 2020). The oomycetes that microbes in the genus of Saprolegnia grow from are ever present in freshwater environments (Costa & Lopes, 2022). Saprolegniasis reduces fish farming profit by 10% annually (Berg et al., 2013). The most effective and inexpensive solution is a highly carcinogenic and toxic dye called malachite green. MG has been banned in the food industry in many countries but is still used in aquaculture as it is very inexpensive and effective. Cannabidiol is highly antimicrobial and in this study, it was tested as a fungicide against Saprolegnia ferax. The tested concentrations were 108 μg/mL, 216 μg/mL, and 324 μg/mL. Qualitative data regarding the presence of fungal growth was observed. The minimum inhibitory concentration of CBD against Saprolegnia ferax was 324 after a 24 hr time period. A chi-square test was conducted for each experimental concentration comparing it to its corresponding control group with a p-value of .05.