A comparison of eugenol and menthol on encapsulation characteristics with water-soluble quaternized β-cyclodextrin grafted chitosan

•Inclusion complex between eugenol and (−)-menthol with QCD-g-CS was investigated.•Encapsulation efficiency decreased with increased guest loading.•Complex formation of eugenol was found more favorable than that of (−)-menthol.•The absorption onto surface QCD-g-CS was found only with eugenol.•(−)-Menthol is released at a faster rate than eugenol as limited-diffusion kinetics.