Characterization, Antioxidant and Erythroprotective Effect of β-Carotene Complexed in β-Cyclodextrin

β-carotene (β-C) is a hydrophobic compound, easily degradable by light and oxygen, with low solubility limiting its applications. β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) can encapsulate β-C, protecting it from degradation and maintaining its bioactivity. Therefore, this research aimed to characterize and determine the antioxidant and erythroprotective activity of β-C/β-CD inclusion complexes. The co-precipitation technique was used to elaborate the β-C/β-CD in a 40:60 ratio, obtaining a high yield (94.10%), an entrapment efficiency of 82.47%, and a loading efficiency of 11.92%. The moisture of β-C/β-CD was 2.93%. β-C release increased over 168 h (80% and 93% at 8 °C and 25 °C, respectively). According to adsorption-desorption isotherms, complexes showed a type II isotherm. FT-IR and Raman confirmed the formation of the inclusion complex interacting by hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions, or Van der Waals forces. DSC showed an endothermic peak at 118 °C in β-C/β:CD. The microscopic surface morphologies observed by SEM of β-C/β-CD were irregular-shaped clumps in the surface with a particle average size of 8.09 µm. X-ray Diffraction showed a crystalline structure of the complex. Zeta potential determination indicated a negative charge (−23 and −32 mV). ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP demonstrated the antioxidant activity of β-C/β:CD (8.63%, 6.35%, and 1.57-mM ET/g) similar to pure β-C (8.21%, 5.99%, and 1.26 mM ET/g). The complexes showed an erythroprotective effect inhibiting hemolysis (32.57%). Therefore, with these characteristics, β-CD is a good encapsulant for β-C where this complex could be applied in food and pharmaceutical industries.