## 3 Results and Discussion
It is noteworthy that the complex CG and \(\alpha\)-Toc had fewer hydrogen bonds in its composition, resulting in lower moisture and consequently loss of mass in this first stage, compared to CG alone (Figure 2C). The second and third stages are directly linked and are attributed to the depolymerization and formation of residues of the particles. Both are well defined and show the same behavior for CGNPs+10 and CGNPs+25 with \(\Delta\)m\({}_{1}\) = 17.17% and T\({}_{\text{peak DTG}}\) = 239.26 \({}^{\circ}\)C; and \(\Delta\)m\({}_{1}\) = 17.75% and T\({}_{\text{peak DTG}}\) = 244.45 \({}^{\circ}\)C in the second stage, and \(\Delta\)m\({}_{1}\) = 48.98% and  
Figure 4: **(A)** Derivative thermogravimetric (TGA/DTG) curve and **(B)** thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the CG particles with dif-ferent concentrations of \(\alpha\)-tocopherol obtained under dynamic nitrogen atmosphere (50 mL-min\({}^{-1}\)), \(\beta\) = 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C-s\({}^{-1}\), and m = 2.5 \(\pm\) 0.5 mg; **(B)** DSC curves of CG and **(C)** DSC curve of crude CG, and **(D)** DSC curves of CGNPs with different concentrations of \(\alpha\)-tocopherol; Where: CGNPs+50 = cashew gum nanoparticle with 50% of \(\alpha\)-Tocopherol; CGNPs+25 = cashew gum nanoparticle with 25% of \(\alpha\)-Tocopherol; CGNPs+10 = cashew gum nanoparticle with 10% of \(\alpha\)-Tocopherol. T\({}_{\text{peak DTG}}\) = 313.85 \({}^{\circ}\)C; and \(\Delta\)m\({}_{1}\) = 50.37% and T\({}_{\text{peak DTG}}\) = 312.88 \({}^{\circ}\)C in the third stage. On the other hand, the CGNPs+50 showed the second and third stages melted and slightly smaller, with \(\Delta\)m\({}_{1}\) = 76.49% and T\({}_{\text{peak DTG}}\) = 307.06 \({}^{\circ}\)C. The same happened when the \(\alpha\)-Toc was added in greater quantity in the mixture of PVOH and starch. Furthermore, CGNPs+50 was the only one to present the fourth event with \(\Delta\)m\({}_{1}\) = 8.97% and T\({}_{\text{peak DTG}}\)= 360.89 \({}^{\circ}\)C. This event is associated with the aromatic structure of the oil decomposing [21]. The residual weight of the particles was smaller than CG alone, and it is possible to observe that the lower the concentration of \(\alpha\)-Toc, the greater the final residue (Table 2). The residual mass for CGNPs+10, CGNPs+25 and CGNPs+50, respectively, were 12.47%, 11.56% and 0%. In this complex, CG is the most stable component, despite studies claiming that the association with \(\alpha\)-Toc has the potential to increase thermal stability and reduce mass loss at high temperatures [45]. In this case, the \(\alpha\)-Toc concentration had no relevant influence on the thermal stability of the particles, the same behavior was also observed in chitosan films [21]. According to DSC analysis (Figure 4B), CGNPs+10 showed a melting endothermic peak at 331.67 K (58.52 \({}^{\circ}\)C), being slightly more stable than the other particles, which had a melting endothermic peak at 329.90 K (56.75 \({}^{\circ}\)C) and 321.42 K (48.27 \({}^{\circ}\)C) for CGNPs+25 and CGNPs+50, respectively. This endothermic peak along with the thermogravimetric event is widely reported in the literature as water loss and suggests weak links between both components, once the CGNPs were less stable than CG alone. Even within a wide temperature range, 233.15 to 473.15 K (\(-\)40 to 200 \({}^{\circ}\)C), both CG and CGNPs did not show glass transition, which was not possible to identify their transition from amorphous to viscous state. The amorphous state of CG has been reported, and its X-ray diffractogram shows a broad peak at 20 = 23\({}^{\circ}\)[15]. Due to \(\alpha\)-Toc encapsulation, CGNPs had the peak shifted to 13.9\({}^{\circ}\), 17.8\({}^{\circ}\) and 18.0\({}^{\circ}\) for CGNPs+10, CGNPs+25, and CGNPs+50, respectively (Figure 5A). The FTIR spectra (Figure 5B) of CG, \(\alpha\)-Toc, and CGNPs+10 explain the possible interaction between the two components.