Theoretical and experimental study of the inclusion complexes of ferulic acid with cyclodextrins

The inclusion complexation behaviour of ferulic acid (FA) with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was investigated by UV–vis, fluorescence and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Since the guest may exist in either anionic or neutral form, the experiments were performed at different pH values. The stoichiometry and association constants of the complexes were determined by nonlinear regression analysis. The phase-solubility studies indicated that the water solubility of FA was improved through complexation with β-CD and HP-β-CD. An increase in the antioxidant reactivity was observed when inclusion complexes that FA formed with CDs were studied. Based on the NMR data, the spatial configurations of FA/β-CD and FA/HP-β-CD complexes were proposed, which suggested that FA entered into the cavity of β-CD from the narrow side, with the lipophilic aromatic ring and ethylenic moieties inside the CD cavity, and the –COOH group was close to the wider rim and exposed outside the cavity. A theoretical study of the complexes using molecular modelling gives the results in good agreement with the NMR data.