Vitamin A Palmitate–β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes: Characterization, protection and emulsification properties

The interest in the production of foods enriched with vitamins, in order to prevent diseases related with their deficiency, has recently increased. However, the low stability and the low water solubility of certain vitamins make difficult their incorporation in foodstuff, especially in water-based formulations. This limitation is typically overcome by using encapsulating systems such as cyclodextrins. In this paper the formation of water-soluble inclusion complexes of Vitamin A Palmitate with β-cyclodextrins, without the use of organic solvents, is described. The objective was to increase the water solubility of Vitamin A Palmitate and its stability against different external factors to eventually enrich aqueous-based products. The stability of Vitamin A Palmitate in the complexes towards temperature, oxygen and UV light was investigated. All results showed a notably increase of Vitamin A Palmitate water solubility and stability in front of those variables when encapsulated. The surface activity of the complex suggests its possible use as stabilizer in emulsion formulations.