This study aimed to investigate the formation of three inclusion complexes of laccaic acid A (the main component of the lac dye, named as LA) with beta-cyclodextrin(beta-CD), methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (M -beta-CD), or (2-hydroxyethyl)-beta-cyclodextrin (HP -beta-CD), exploring particularly the effects of CDs on the solubility of LA and the binding ability of the final inclusion coitiplexes. Lac dye, a natural colorant, had been widely used in food and textile industry. Because of its low water solubility, the application of this nontoxic dye was restricted. This study employed beta-cyclodextrin and its derivatives to encapsulate the hydrophobic part of LA and resolve the aforementioned limitation. The binding constants (K-c) and solubility of LA were determined with the three beta-CDs using the phase-solubility method, Which followed the rank order of HP-beta-CD>M -beta-CD >beta-CD. The inclusion interactions between LA and,beta-CDs were detected using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance. Moreover, the scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope were applied to characterize the appearance of the inclusion complexes. This study would provide a useful approach for obtaining novel LA-based products with high water solubility and low toxicity. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.