The development of inclusion complexes is used to encapsulate nonpolar compounds and improve their physicochemical characteristics. This study aims to develop complexes made up of Euterpe oleracea Mart oil (EOO) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) or hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) by either kneading (KND) or slurry (SL). Complexes were analyzed by molecular modeling, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The antibacterial activity was expressed as Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), and the antibiotic resistance modulatory activity as subinhibitory concentration (MIC/8) against Escherichia coli, Streptomyces aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis. Inclusion complexes with β-CD and HP-β-CD were confirmed, and efficiency was proven by an interaction energy between oleic acid and β-CD of -41.28 ± 0.57 kJ/mol. MIC values revealed higher antibacterial activity of complexes compared to the isolated oil. The modulatory response of EOO and EOO-β-CD prepared by KND as well as of EOO-β-CD and EOO-HP-β-CD prepared by SL showed a synergistic effect with ampicillin against E. coli, whereas it was not significant with the other drugs tested, maintaining the biological response of antibiotics. The antimicrobial response exhibited by the complexes is of great significance because it subsidizes studies for the development of new pharmaceutical forms.
Keywords: Euterpe oleracea Mart; antibacterial activity; cyclodextrins; inclusion complexes; modulatory activity.