Abstract
The solubilization of poorly water-soluble natural bioactive compounds remains a significant challenge. This study aims to design a ternary inclusion system to enhance the solubility of the poorly water-soluble compound Neohesperidin (NH). Soluble ternary cyclodextrin complexations (t-CDs) containing NH, 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), and meglumine (MEG) were prepared and optimized. The optimized t-CDs were further characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and molecular docking (MD) techniques. The results suggested that NH formed was associated with MEG through hydrogen bonds with MEG, and was subsequently incorporated into the hydrophobic cavity of HP-β-CD, which may be a key factor in improving its solubility. The solubility of NH in water at 37 °C increased significantly from 0.16 mg/mL to 5.81 mg/mL in the optimized t-CDs (NH/MEG/HP-β-CD).