Sunflower oil (SFO), soybean oil, canola oil, ethanol, and water were utilized as co-solvents to support supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction of total carotenoid (TC), fucoxanthin (FX), and phlorotannin (PT) from brown seaweed (Saccharina japonica). A steepest ascent method with various temperatures [45-55 degrees C], pressures [200-300 bar], and co-solvent flow rates [0.50-2.00 (% of CO2, w/w)] was used to define the best operative co-solvents to enhance the extraction yields followed by response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the extraction conditions. The best conditions for the yield of TC and FX were 50.62 degrees C, 300 bar, and 2.00% of SFO, while for PT it was 48.98 degrees C, 300 bar, and 2.00% of water, respectively. Overall extraction curves were determined for the optimized conditions, and experimental data were used to estimate the kinetic parameters. SFO as co-solvent showed higher fatty acid content, antioxidant activity, and oil stability than the control (SC-CO2 only). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.