Black raspberry touted for its big health benefits

Raspberries, blackberries and black raspberries have all been found to have high levels of antioxidants offering health boosting properties. (Victor_69/Istock.com)

If you're looking for a superfood fruit, you may not need to look as far as the exotic goji, acerola or acai berry. A Polish study points out that the common blackberry and raspberry have a high level of health boosting antioxidants, with the lesser-known black raspberry coming top out of the three.

To look at the possible health benefits of these three berries, the team of researchers from the University of Agriculture in Krakow measured the antioxidant activity in black raspberries, red raspberries and blackberries and their potential health benefits. The team found that the antioxidant activity of the fruit had a direct relationship with their health promoting properties, and of the three fruits tested, black raspberries had the most antioxidants, with a level three times higher than red raspberries or blackberries. Black raspberries also had a higher level of secondary metabolites, compounds that have also been proven to boost health.

The team concluded that antioxidant-rich black raspberry has "potentially huge health-beneficial value" and, although little known in Central Europe, because of these health benefits "should be considerably better promoted." And as the team found no significant difference in the antioxidant level whether the fruits were collected in summer or autumn, they can remain a rich source of antioxidants throughout the seasons.

The results, published in the journal Open Chemistry, are significant as antioxidants can help to decrease or reverse the effects of free radicals, the natural byproducts of energy production that are closely linked with heart disease, cancer, arthritis, stroke and respiratory diseases, making a diet rich in antioxidants a good way to promote health and help stave off disease.