Two aromatic butenolides, aspernolides A and B along with the known metabolites,
butyrolactone I, terrein and physcion were isolated from the fermentation broth of a soft coral
derived fungus Aspergillus terreus. The structures of these metabolites were assigned on
the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis. The absolute stereochemistry of aspernolides A
(1) and B (2) was established by their preparation from the known butyrolactone I.
Biogenetically aspernolides A and B must be derived from butyrolactone I, a well known …