The study, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, found Agaricus bisporus -- white button mushrooms, which many believed had less value nutritionally -- may contain as much antioxidant power as the maitake and the matsutake mushrooms, which have been linked to lower blood pressure and anti-cancer effects.

Specifically, the health benefits of antioxidants are believed to related to their "scavenging" ability -- the ability to rid the body of free radicals. Free radical activity is thought to be a cause of cell damage that might lead to disease.

Dr. Jean-Michel Savoie and his team from the Institut National de la Recherche Agrinomique, a government research institute in France, found that anti-radical activity was equivalent to, if not more, than the better known mushrooms when they measured the respective mushrooms' free radical scavenging ability.

"Button mushrooms are available all year round, are cheap and may be an excellent source of nutrition as part of a healthy diet," Savoie said in a statement.