One-pot synthesis of lycopene-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes from gac fruit aril: Improved stability and anticancer efficacy against MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 Breast cancer cells

Abstract

Gac fruit aril, notably rich in lycopene, has a long history of use as a traditional local food and is well-known for its applications in functional foods and conventional medicine. The high efficiency of lycopene-loaded β-cyclodextrin inclusion complexation was demonstrated through a significant rearrangement in the packing of the complex crystalline formation, resulting in large, single-crystal habit assemblies successfully prepared from Gac fruit aril raw material using a developed one-step green supercritical carbon dioxide system. The complex crystalline structure exhibited improved water solubility and preservation of lycopene activity within the digestive system, thereby increasing the inhibition of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. This highly efficient production of lycopene-loaded β-cyclodextrin complexes from natural sources holds promise for large-scale and scalable production for functional food and nutraceutical applications.