Physicochemical and metabolomic characterization of custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) pulp powder obtained by different drying methods

Custard apple ( Annona squamosa L.) is a nutrient-rich climacteric fruit with high perishability and shorter shelf life. Drying custard apple pulp into powder offers a sustainable approach to reduce postharvest losses and enhance its application as a functional ingredient. This study comparatively evaluated the effect of tray drying (45, 50, 55 °C), vacuum drying, and freeze drying on the physicochemical, structural, thermal and metabolomic characteristics of CAPP. Freeze-dried powder gave the lowest bulk density (294.12 ± 7.48 kg/m 3 ) and superior flowability (Carr index 13.45± 1.96 %), resulting a highly porous structure. It also showed significantly higher antioxidant activity, with total phenolic content (5.04 ± 0.30 mg GAE/g), total flavonoid content (87.20 ± 0.23 mg QE/g), and DPPH radical scavenging activity (19.62 ± 1.23%) compared to tray- and vacuum-dried samples. SEM, XRD, DSC, and TGA analyses confirmed enhanced porosity, amorphous structure, and improved thermal stability in freeze-dried CAPP. Targeted HPLC identified gallic acid and chlorogenic acid as major phenolic constituents. FTIR and high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry confirmed superior retention of bioactive metabolites. Overall, freeze drying proved to be the most effective technique for producing bioactive-rich CAPP with enhanced functional quality. • Tray, vacuum and freeze drying comparatively evaluated for custard apple pulp Powder. • Freeze drying showed minimum bulk density (∼294 kg/m 3 ) and best flowability (Carr index ∼13%). • Freeze-dried powder showed maximum antioxidant retention with 20 % DPPH inhibition. • SEM and DSC analysis confirmed porous morphology and thermal stability in FD samples. • HPLC and HRaMS identified key bioactives, including gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, etc.