This paper focuses on the extraction of sclareol from the leaves of Salvia sclarea Lamiaceae, more commonly known as Clary sage. The process involves the extraction of sclareol using a CO2-soluble GRAS solvent Such as ethyl lactate, followed by GAS anti-solvent precipitation from ethyl lactate solution with carbon dioxide. The three-component phase behavior of the sclareol-ethyl lactate-CO2 system at various pressures has been determined and indicates a slight cybotactic effect. The ability of thermodynamic models to predict the complex three-component phase behavior of this system is discussed, together with the implications of the thermodynamic behavior of the system on process design. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.