London, Jan 3 (IANS): Black raspberries grown in Central Europe show greater health benefits than their better known cousins raspberries or blackberries, reveals a new study.

As far as healthy foods go, berries make the top of the list as they contain potent antioxidants, which decrease or reverse the effects of free radicals -- natural byproducts of energy production that can play havoc on the body and that are closely linked with heart disease, cancer, arthritis, stroke or respiratory diseases.

A group of researchers led by Anna Magorzata Kostecka-Guga measured the content of phenolics and anthocyanins in black raspberries, red raspberries and blackberries, assessing their antioxidant potential and health benefits.

They were able to confirm that the antioxidant activity of natural products correlates directly with their health promoting properties.

The amount of antioxidants in black raspberries was three times higher than the other fruits under investigation, the findings showed.

Remarkably, the number was even higher for phenolics - with black raspberries topping their humble cousins by over 1,000 percent.

Phenolic compounds aid in the maintenance of food, fresh flavour, taste, and colour. In particular, many phenolic compounds also have antioxidative and anticarcinogenic properties.

But most interestingly, black raspberries seem to be characterised by a higher content of secondary metabolites, which have been proved beneficial for human health, said the study published in the journal Open Chemistry.