Supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) extraction of Candeia (Eremanthus erythropappus) wood was studied using ethanol as a co-solvent. This tree has a great potential for producing (-)-alpha-bisabolol, an interesting compound for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries because of its properties. Using a Box-Behnken experimental design, the effects of pressure, temperature, extraction time and co-solvent percentage on the global yield were systematically evaluated. Static and dynamic extraction modes were compared. The use of ethanol as co-solvent proved itself fundamental for raising the extracted percentage of the desired compound. Both static and dynamic modes provided extracts with (-)-alpha-bisabolol as the major compound, although dynamic system provided the best extraction yields. In the best experimental condition, an extraction yield equal to 0.74% was achieved, which is much higher than the yields obtained using the standard steam distillation reported in the literature. Pressure showed greater influence in the obtained (-)-alpha-bisabolol percentage by the dynamic mode, while temperature was very important in the static system. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.