Complexation of estragole as pure compound and as main component of basil and tarragon essential oils with cyclodextrins

• Determination of formation constants between estragole and cyclodextrins.
• Formation of 1:1 inclusion complexes in solution.
• Physicochemical characterization of the freeze–dried solid inclusion complexes.
• Determination of the encapsulation efficiencies of CDs.
• Increase of photostability, controlled release and radical scavenging activity.

Inclusion complexes of estragole (ES) as pure compound and as main component of basil and tarragon essential oils (EOs) with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), randomly methylated-β-cyclodextrin (RAMEB), a low methylated-β-cyclodextrin (CRYSMEB) and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) were characterized. Formation constants (Kf) of the complexes were determined in aqueous solution by nonlinear regression analysis using static headspace gas chromatography (SH-GC) and UV–visible spectroscopy. Solid inclusion complexes were prepared by the freeze-drying method for different CD:ES molar ratios and were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Inclusion complexes formation allowed the controlled release of ES. Moreover, increased DPPH radical scavenging activity and photostability of ES and ES containing EOs (ESEOs) were observed in the presence of CDs. These findings suggest that encapsulation with CDs could be an efficient tool to improve the use of ES and ESEOs in aromatherapy, cosmetic and food fields.