Characterisation and solubility study of γ-cyclodextrin and β-carotene complex
β-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A can be destroyed easily during high temperature processing. Thus, γ-cyclodextrin (CD) was investigated to increase thermal protection and solubility of β-carotene in water by formation of inclusion complex by using kneading, co-precipitation and physical mixture techniques. Characterisation of inclusion complex was performed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Field Emmision Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The molar ratio needed for encapsulation was 1:1 (CD: β-carotene). Result obtained from FTIR revealed that the shift of C-H aliphatic band (2928cm-1) and C=0 band (1718 cm-1) to higher wavenumber for co-precipitation, indicates C-H and C=0 been used for the formation of inclusion complex. The same band also noticed in kneading and physical mixture but lower in intensity. FESEM photographs revealed that co-precipitation method produced compounds that have completely different morphology than β-carotene and γ-cyclodextrin. Co-precipitation was found to be best method that able to increase solubility of β-carotene.