In the present work, the use of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to obtain beta-caryophyllene from Cordia verbenacea DC was studied. The assays were performed using a single-step SFE (1S-SFE) and a three-step SFE (3S-SFE). In view of the literature results for the biological activities of C. verbenacea, the assays for the 3S-SFE were conducted at 60 degrees C and pressures of 8, 20, and 30 MPa, while for the 1S-SFE, they were performed at 50 and 60 degrees C and pressures of 20 and 30 MPa. In the 3S-SFE, three samples of C. verbenacea extract were obtained. The purity of P-caryophyllene was 33% (extract's dry basis) for the fraction obtained at 8 MPa. The kinetics of supercritical CO2 extraction was studied at the optimum operational conditions for global yield and anticancer activity (30 MPa/50 degrees C and 20 MPa/40 degrees C, respectively). The effect of bed height on the kinetic parameters of the SFE process was also investigated. Literature models fitted quantitatively the experimental extraction curves. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.