Think of Susan Ebeler and Andy Waterhouse next time you sip a glass of red wine. These two wine chemists in the nation's premier wine research program are teasing out the chemical secrets of wine, hoping to discover how certain compounds may help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Waterhouse studies the possible health benefits of a group of chemicals in wine called "phenolics," which prevent the oxidation process that can clog human arteries and cause heart attacks. He has explored how phenolics work, which ones are likely to offer the greatest health benefits and how farming practices may affect the concentration of these compounds in wine grapes. He also has studied the feasibility of labeling some foods and beverages to let consumers know their phenolic content.

Meanwhile, Ebeler has shown that wine rich in the potent antioxidant "catechin" can delay tumor formation in laboratory mice. Her research team is now exploring how various wine-processing techniques may impact the protective qualities of catechin, and how catechin and related compounds may prevent cancer.

Theirs is part of a growing body of research that suggests how the foods and beverages we enjoy may also hold the key, at least in part, to better health and longer life.

For more information, please view the UC Davis 2006 Annual Report.

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