Nine naturally occurring xanthones were investigated for their platelet activating factor (PAF) receptor binding inhibitory effects using rabbit platelets. 2-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)-1,3,5-trihydoxyxanthone, macluraxanthone, 1,3,5-trihydroxy-6,6'-dimethylpyrano(2',3':6,7)-4-(1,1-dimethylprop-2-enyl)xanthone, 6-deoxyjacareubin and 2-(3-methylbut-2-enyl)-1,3,5,6-terahydroxyxanthone showed strong inhibition with IC50 values of 4.8, 11.0, 21.0, 29.0 and 44.0 microM, respectively. The prenyl group at C-2, the dimethylprop-2-enyl group at C-4 and the hydroxyl group at C-5 are all beneficial to the binding of xanthones to the PAF receptor. The results revealed that xanthones can represent a new class of natural PAF receptor antagonists.