LAUSR

The objective of the present study is the encapsulation of Melia azedarach L. seed oil by the β-cyclodextrin–epichlorohydrin polymer to protect it against external environmental factors and also to increase its solubility. The encapsulation of this oil was carried out by the lyophilization method. The chemical composition of the extracted oil revealed that the main components identified were: linoleic (62.38%), oleic (26.95%), palmitic (05.80%) and stearic (02.37%) acids. Characterization of the β-cyclodextrin–epichlorohydrin polymer determined by different analytical techniques: nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the β-cyclodextrin–epichlorohydrin polymer adopts inclusion complex formation with β-cyclodextrin, a high molecular weight and higher solubility. The encapsulation of the oil with this polymer was also characterized and showed that the capsules obtained had an average size of 232.133 ± 3.52 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.226 ± 0.010.