Four new aromatic butenolides, asperimides A-D (1-4), together with a known analogue, butyrolactone I (5), were isolated from solid cultures of a tropical endophytic fungus Aspergillus terreus. The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods and electronic circular dichroism calculations. Compounds 1-4 represent the first examples of butenolides with a maleimide core isolated from Aspergillus sp. Inhibitory effects of the isolated compounds on nitric oxide production were investigated in lipopolysaccaride (LPS)-mediated RAW 264.7 cells. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited potent anti-inflammatory with IC