Washington, Feb 7 : The little white button mushroom is as good a source of anti-oxidants as its more expensive cousins, a new study has found.

The button mushroom is the most cultivated edible mushroom in the world. However, it has been assumed that it has a lesser nutritional value than its more expensive relatives.

Now however, a study by researchers at the Institut National de la Recherche Agrinomique, a Governmental research institute in France have found that this notion just isn't true.

According to the study carried out, the white button mushroom has as much anti-oxidant properties, said lead author Dr Jean-Michel Savoie who along with his team measured the respective the free radical scavenging ability of button, maitake and matsutake mushrooms.

"It can be reasonably assumed that white button mushrooms have as much, if not more, radical scavenging power as mushrooms currently touted for their health benefit. The good thing is button mushrooms are available all year round, are cheap and may be an excellent source of nutrition as part of a healthy diet," Dr Jean-Michel said.

The French team also found that the body of the mushroom had a higher concentration of anti-oxidants than the stalk.

The study appears in the Society of Chemical Industry's Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

ANI