Phenolic compounds from Arrabidaea chica Verlot leaves, besides conferring staining properties to their extracts, also have various biological activities including anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. To evaluate new possibilities for obtaining extracts with differentiated yield and composition, sequential extractions in fixed bed were performed at 40 and 50 degrees C, and 300 and 400 bar, using as extracting solvents pure supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) in a first step, acidified ethanol in a second step and acidified water in a third extraction step. Four flavonoids of interest were investigated in the extracts, one of them being flavone (luteolin), and three anthocyanin compounds of type 3-desoxyanthocyanidins which were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The extraction curves, the global yields and the concentration and yield of the compounds under study were evaluated. The results indicated that the cumulative total yields in the three steps ranged from 22% to 27% in all conditions of temperature and pressure, with the highest global yield at 50 degrees C and 300 bar. Although the lowest extraction yield was obtained using pure scCO(2), this step was highly selective, since only carajurin in its aglycone form was extracted among the compounds of interest and this was confirmed by analysis of MS/MS. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.