Encapsulation of a vitamin E- and carotene-rich lipophilic extract by β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes

Lipophilic extracts rich in vitamin E and carotenes contain compounds of nutritional interest for food applications, but their low water solubility and sensitivity to storage conditions can limit their direct incorporation. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of the β-cyclodextrin (β-CD): extract ratio and stirring time on encapsulating a vitamin E- and carotene-rich high-oleic palm oil extract through inclusion complexes. The complexes were prepared using three β-CD: extract ratios (1:1, 1.3:1, and 1.6:1, w/w) and three stirring times (1, 3, and 5 h). The resulting powders were evaluated for process yield, encapsulation efficiency, moisture content, color, morphology, FT-IR spectra, thermal behavior by DSC and TGA, and refrigerated storage stability. The best balance between powder recovery and bioactive compound retention was obtained with a β-CD: extract ratio of 1.6:1 and 1 h of stirring, yielding 72.61% powder recovery and encapsulation efficiencies of 53.53% for vitamin E and 59.10% for carotenes. The selected powder contained 968.88 mg/kg vitamin E and 125.90 mg/kg carotenes, with reduced moisture content and extract-associated color changes. SEM, FT-IR, DSC, and TGA showed modified particle morphology, spectral changes consistent with β-CD–extract interactions, reduced water-loss events, and a shift of the main degradation event toward higher temperatures. After 60 days at 4 °C, the encapsulated extract retained more vitamin E (91.42%) and carotenes (86.27%) than the free extract (82.74% and 74.00%, respectively). These results show that inclusion complexation with β-CD can effectively protect and stabilize lipophilic extracts rich in vitamin E and carotenes for future food applications.