The extraction of polyphenol compounds from jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril L. var stilbocarpa) bark using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with CO2 and cosolvents has been investigated. Among the solvent systems studied, SFE using CO2 and water (9:1, v/v), at 323 K and 35 MPa, presented the best results, with extract yield of 24%, and with high antioxidant activity (IC50 of 0.2 mg/cm(3)). This solvent system was used to determine global yield isotherms, which were built at 323 and 333 K, and 15, 25, and 35 MPa, using a second lot of jatoba. The highest yield was 11.5% at 15 MPa and 323 K, with maximum total phenolic compounds (TPC) of 335.00 mg TAE/g extract (d.b.) and total tannins content of 1.8 g/100 g raw material. A kinetic experiment was performed using optimized conditions, yielding 18% extract, and the kinetic parameters were used to scale-up the process from laboratory to pilot scale. Chemical analyses showed high content of phenolic compounds in the extracts of jatoba bark mostly due to the presence of procyanidins. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.