Summary of Prof Corder's Research

Roger Corder, Professor of Experimental Therapeutics at the William Harvey Research Institute in London, identified the polyphenol in red wine responsible for the reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease and the lowering of overall mortality in regular, moderate consumers of red wine.

On 30 November 2006 a research article was published in “Nature” magazine on the significant health-giving benefits of some red wines.

Epidemiological studies revealed that two populations in Europe live a long time. People in the Nuoro province of Sardinia and those in the department of Gers in the midi-Pyrenees in the south-west of France, especially men, have a greater longevity. These populations do NOT consume the "Mediterranean Diet".

Wines from these regions are particularly high in polyphenols called procyanidins. This is because a large proportion of the grapes used to produce the local wines in these regions are the flavanoid-rich grape, Tannat. Furthermore the traditional wine-making techniques in the south-west of France, where the grape skins and seeds remain in contact with the juice during fermentation and maceration, increase the concentration of procyanidins.

The groundbreaking research by Professor Roger Corder and colleagues has established that:

a) Procyanidins lower blood pressure by

• suppressing endothelin-1, a peptide that has an undesirable vasoconstriction effect,

• increasing nitric oxide in the blood causing vasodilation and increasing blood flow

b) Procyanidins decrease platelet aggregation

• thus preventing clot formation and blockage of arteries

c) Procyanidins prevent oxidation of LDL-cholesterol

• High blood cholesterol levels are a major risk factor for heart disease because LDL-cholesterol can accumulate in the artery wall where after oxidation it causes inflammation and the formation of plaque. When LDL-cholesterol is protected from oxidation it is less likely to cause atherosclerosis.

d) Very few wines have exceptionally high concentrations of procyanidins

• Corder tested many wines and identified only a few regions of the world that consistently have the highest concentrations of procyanidins

Corder and his team designed their study so they wouldn't know which compound worked best until the end of the trial. The researchers cultured endothelial cells and then added small amounts of red wine. The team used chromatography to isolate and measure the biological activity of each polyphenol in red wine. In hundreds of experiments, using wines from all over the world, procyanidin proved to be the best at regulating production of endothelin-1 to achieve the most favourable levels. Procyanidins suppressed overproduction by 50 percent.

Other compounds, such as resveratrol and quercetin, were found to have an irrelevant effect.

Professor Roger Corder’s research showed that in areas of increased longevity the red wines being drunk on a daily basis are much richer in procyanidins than the average wine and those from the new world. He has tested the concentrations of procyanidins in wines from the Gers and Nuoro regions and found them to be consistently higher than from all other regions tested.

Prof Corder commented that after only two weeks of drinking 125ml of a procyanidin rich wine per day there are positive effects on cardiovascular health.

Professor Giovanni de Gaetano of Italy who was a speaker at the Wine & Health Symposium in Pau stated that epidemiological studies have established that nowhere in the world where populations are given drug treatments to manage cardiovascular health, have they achieved the low levels of heart disease related deaths, as occurs in Gers where medical services are described as basic.

Other research has stated that these polyphenols in red wine also protect against the dangers of strokes, diabetes, dementia and certain cancers.

In early 2007 Professor Roger Corder's book The Wine Diet was published.  It gives a full account of the research and much more about lifestyle, other foods rich in procyanidins, general health, diets and recipes.

About Professor Roger Corder

Roger Corder is Professor of Experimental Therapeutics at the William Harvey Research Institute, London. He has pursued research into cardiovascular function and the links between diabetes and heart disease for 25 years, with the aim of discovering new treatments for these ever-increasing health problems. Professor Corder has published numerous articles and lectured widely on his findings, which confirm the link between wine consumption and health.

Jump to Roger Corder's web site for book reviews and to read more about Roger.

Prof Corder is also chairman of the management committee of the William Harvey Research Foundation.
Roger is a professional member of the American Heart Association, and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. In the UK he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, and a member of the Society for Endocrinology, and the British Pharmacological Society