significantly influenced by the position and number of linked group on the xanthone skeleton, and the presence of chroman-4-one moiety in the xanthone scaffold was found to be critically important for strong cytotoxic activity. The novel 2H-xanthene-3,9-dione analogues 3 and 4 were reported to elicit potent activities comparable to those of standard drugs doxorubicin and cisplatin. This preliminary investigation