The present paper reports liquid-liquid equilibrium data for the system refined cottonseed oil+commercial linoleic acid+ethanol+water at 298.2 K. The experimental data were used for adjusting parameters of the NRTL and UNIQUAC models. The global deviations between calculated and experimental concentrations were 0.80% for the NRTL model and 1.44% for the UNIQUAC equation. The influence of the solvent on the distribution coefficient of tocopherols was also studied. UNIQUAC and NRTL interaction parameters between tocopherols and the other pseudocomponents were determined assuming that the nutraceutical compound is present at infinite dilution in the liquid-liquid equilibrium system. The obtained parameter set enables the simulation of liquid-liquid extractors. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.