Extensive chemical studies on the stem bark extracts of two Guttifereous plants namely Mesua daphnifolia and Garcinia nitida have led to the isolation of eight xanthones. Mesua daphnifolia gave cudraxanthone G (1), ananixanthone (2), 1,3,5-trihydroxy-4-methoxyxanthone (3) and euxanthone (4) while Garcinia nitida gave inophyllin B (5), 1,3,7-trihydroxy-2,4-bis (3-methylbut-2-enyl)xanthone (6), 3-isomangostin (7) and rubraxanthone (8). All these compounds were assayed against the MDA-MB-231 (human estrogen receptor negative breast cancer) cells. A structure-activity relationship study showed that structurally, all the 1, 3-oxygenated xanthones which carried unsaturated prenyl side chains (either 3-methylbut-2-enyl or 1,1-dimethyl-2-propenyl) at carbones C-2 and C-4 in the xanthone ring A are essential for the outstanding activities in the assay.