## 3 Results and Discussion
### Brine Shrimp Lethality Bioassay  
The BSL bioassay, as a simple, economic, and rapid screening procedure, was also used to determine the toxicity of the Azorean C. _japonica_ EOs and some of their components (Figure 4). FC EO was found to be the most toxic EO against _A. salina_ nauplii, with a 70.6 \(\pm\) 4.2% mortality rate, followed by leaf (53.9 \(\pm\) 10.6%), MC (38.8 \(\pm\) 13.1%), and foliage (34.1 \(\pm\) 8.6%) EOs, with significant differences among them (_F_ = 10.62; _df_ = 5; \(p\) < 0.001). \(\alpha\)-Pinene, the major component in all the studied EO samples, and terpinen-4-ol do not seem to be involved in toxicity against brine shrimp (36.6 \(\pm\) 6.2% and 22.7 \(\pm\) 12.4% of mortality rate, respectively). The highest toxicity of FC EO could be due to other major components or due to a synergistic effect of its minor components, which will require further investigation. Considering that the BSL bioassay is an adequate method for preliminary toxicity testing of EOs in tumor cell lines [38], future studies should consider FC EO for further investigation of its potential pharmacological properties to assess their application in industry.  
Figure 4: Toxicity of the essential oils (EOs) from different Azorean _Cryptomeria japonica_ parts and some of their components against _Artemia salina_ nauplii at 100 \(\mu\)g/mL. Within each bar, means followed by the same letter are not significantly different at \(p\) < 0.05.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**EO/Compound**} & \multicolumn{6}{c}{**Growth Inhibition Zone (mm)**} \\ \cline{2-9}  & _Bacillus_ & _Bacillus_ & _Microoccus_ & _Serratia_ & _Enterobacter_ & _Escherichia_ & _Pencil1 ium_ \\  & _subtilis_ & _licheriformis_ & _Intetus_ & _marescens_ & _cloacae_ & _coli_ & _chrysogenum_ \\ \hline FC EO 1 & \(13\pm 4\) bc & \(11\pm 2\) c & \(11\pm 2\) c & na & na & na & \(7\pm 0\) a \\ MC EO 1 & \(9\pm 1\) c & \(10\pm 3\) c & \(7\pm 1\) cd & na & na & na & \(7\pm 0\) a \\ Leaf EO 1 & \(9\pm 1\) c & \(9\pm 2\) c & \(7\pm 1\) cd & na & na & na & na \\ Foliage EO 1 & \(10\pm 2\) c & \(9\pm 1\) c & \(11\pm 1\) c & na & na & na & na \\ a-Pinene 1 & \(14\pm 1\) b & \(15\pm 1\) b & \(8\pm 1\) c & \(7\pm 1\) c & \(8\pm 1\) c & \(14\pm 1\) b \\ Terpinen-4-ol 1 & \(11\pm 1\) c & \(11\pm 1\) c & \(7\pm 1\) d & \(21\pm 2\) b & \(31\pm 3\) a & \(19\pm 5\) b & \(14\pm 1\) b \\ Kanamycin 2 & \(39\pm 2\) a & \(34\pm 2\) a & \(30\pm 0\) a & \(24\pm 2\) a & \(21\pm 1\) b & \(24\pm 1\) a & - \\ Nystatin 3 & - & - & - & - & - & - & \(8\pm 1\) a \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Values are mean \(\pm\) SD (\(n=3\)). Different letters in the same column of the same strain indicate statistically significant differences (_p_ < 0.05). 1 Tested at 4.5 mg/disc. 2 Positive control for antibacterial assay (tested at 50 \(\mu\)g/disc). 3 Positive control for antifungal assay (tested at 200 \(\mu\)g/disc). Legend: na–no activity; 7–10 mm (weak activity); 10–15 mm (moderate activity).  
\end{table}
Table 3: In vitro antimicrobial activity (growth inhibition zone) of the essential oils (EOs) from Azorean _Cryptomeria japonica_ female cones (ICs), male cones (MTs), leaves, and foliage and some of their components.