## 3 Results and Discussion
### Storage Stability  
Considering that GA concentration was the parameter that showed the greatest influence on the process performance (solids recovery; Table 1) and particle attributes (particle size, hygroscopicity, \(\Delta\)E, and phytochemical content; Tables 1 and 2), one group from each GA addition ratio was selected for storage stability evaluation. Furthermore, considering  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **Ascorbic Acid** & **Carotenoids** & **TPC** & **DPPH Antioxidant** \\  & **(mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\))** & **(mg 100 g\({}^{-1}\))** & **(mg GAE 100 g\({}^{-1}\))** & **Activity (\(\upmu\)mol TE g\({}^{-1}\))** \\ \hline C1 & 673.2 \(\pm\) 37.3 [FOOTNOTE:3]Footnote 3: Results are shown as the average \(\pm\) standard deviation (\(n=3\)). Different letters (a, b, c) in the same line indicate statistical difference according to [PERSON]’s test (\(p<0.05\)). Legend: TPC: total phenolic content; GAE: gallic acid equivalents; DPPH: 2.2-diphenyl-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-l-p-l-p-l-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-p-l-l-p-l-p-that a lower inlet temperature (140 \({}^{\circ}\)C) yielded higher TPC preservation for spray-dried particles with 15% GA \(w/v\), groups C1 and C3 (both prepared at 140 \({}^{\circ}\)C) were prioritized for the study of storage stability. The effects of light (storage under light in transparent (T) or opaque (O) packaging materials) and oxygen (sealed under vacuum (V) or without a vacuum (N)) on \(a_{w}\), solubility, and TPC and ascorbic acid retention were evaluated over the course of 56 days. A slight increasing trend was observed for the \(a_{w}\) of the C1 group over the 56 days of storage, regardless of packaging conditions (Figure 3A), which was not seen for C3 (Figure 3B). Spray-dried cashew particles produced with 25% \(w/v\) GA (group C3) displayed lower hygroscopicity (\(p<0.05\)) than particles produced with 15% \(w/v\) GA (group C1; Table 1), which might have limited the water sorption over time. Despite the slight increase in \(a_{w}\) for the C1 samples, all spray-dried cashew particles retained a low \(a_{w}\), below 0.4, throughout the 56 days of storage, indicating microbiological stability and a low risk of lipid oxidation or enzymatic degradation [69]. Similar behavior was reported by [PERSON] et al. [70] for vacuum-dried puran powder and by [PERSON] et al. [71] for spray-dried guava parties that showed an \(a_{w}\) increase in the range of 1.8-9.1% after storage for up to four months. Comparatively, the average \(a_{w}\) increases in this study were in the ranges of 9.6-22.6% and 0-5.3% for groups C1 and C3, respectively. The solubility of spray-dried cashew particles was not affected by any of the storage conditions (Figure 3C,D), and remained high during the extended 56-day storage period (>90%). GA has been reported as being highly soluble in water [51; 72], which might explain the observed results. Transparent packaging led to higher ascorbic acid losses (\(p<0.05\); Figure 4A) in spray-dried cashew particles produced with 15% \(w/v\) GA (67.9-74.8% ascorbic acid retention after 56 days) when compared to opaque packaging (82.0-83.4% ascorbic acid retention after 56 days). Moreover, spray-dried particles produced with 25% \(w/v\) GA (group C3,  
Figure 3: Water activity (**A,B**) and solubility (**C,D**) of spray-dried cashew particles under storage conditions. (**A,C**) C1: spray-dried cashew particles with 15% \(w/v\) GA, IT 140 \({}^{\circ}\)C; (**B,D**) C3: spray -dried cashew particles with 25% \(w/v\) GA, IT 140 \({}^{\circ}\)C. GA: gum arabic; IT: inlet temperature. TV: packaged in transparent plastic and sealed under vacuum; TN: packaged in transparent plastic and sealed without vacuum; OV: packaged in opaque plastic and sealed under vacuum; ON: packaged in transparent plastic and sealed without vacuum.