Black raspberries credit Lisa Clarke

Black raspberries Credit Lisa Clarke/Flickr

There may be a new ‘super’ berry on the block after a new study found black raspberries have more antioxidants than red raspberries or blackberries.

Researchers from the university of agriculture in Krakow, Poland, measured the level of chemical compounds phenolics and anthocyanins in the three berries, to assess their antioxidant potential.

Black raspberries had three times as many antioxidants as the other fruit, the study found, and they were typically characterised by high levels of secondary metabolites.

“From among all the tested fruits, black raspberries had the largest antioxidant capacity as verified by all methods used in this study,” the study said.

“The research contributes to characterisation of central European berry fruits, which due to their high content and large diversity of health-beneficial compounds are classified as natural functional food.”

The study is published in scientific journal Open Chemistry.