## 4 Conclusions  
The available literature on the chemical compositions of EOs from different _C. japonica_ parts and their biological potential is still scarce. Therefore, this study compared the yield, chemical composition, antimicrobial activity, and BSL effect of EOs from different parts of a 60-year-old _C. japonica_ tree population planted in Azores archipelago.  
This study confirms that all the selected plant parts (leaves, foliage, and reproductive structures) produce EOs; however, a substantial variation was noticed in their quantity. A considerable chemical variability was also observed, namely, the \(\alpha\)-pinene and terpinen-4-ol contents were lower in foliage/leaves than in strobili EOs, while the elemol and phylolcladene amount showed an opposite tendency. It should also be noted that the studied EOs from different Azorean _C. japonica_ parts were richer in phyllocladene as compared with those of _C. japonica_ from Corsica (France), probably due to genetic differences and/or different environmental conditions.  
A variation in the biological potential of the studied EOs is also confirmed. Regarding the antimicrobial activity, the bioactive EOs exhibited, in general, a weaker inhibitory effect against the selected microorganisms as compared to the tested EO components (\(\alpha\)-pinene and terpinen-4-ol). Moreover, both EO compounds showed better antifungal activity than the positive control, and terpinen-4-ol exhibited a very strong activity against Gram-negative bacteria, even better than that of the positive control in the case of the _E. cloacae_ strain. Concerning the BSL effect, the most toxic EOs were from FCs, followed by leaf samples.  
Overall, among the studied samples, only the strobili (FC and MC) EOs showed antifungal activity against _P. chrysogenum_. In addition, FC EO is the most promising source of multi-bioactivities since it also showed the best antibacterial activities and the highest toxicity. Thus, future investigations into the potential pharmacological properties of FC EO are required to assess their application in industry. In addition, further ongoing studies will involve fractionating _C. japonica_ EOs to enhance the content of their active components, thereby increasing their antimicrobial activity, as well as to provide data on synergistic effects between _C. japonica_ EOs/fractions and selected antibiotics.  
Conceptualization, A.L., F.A., A.J. and E.L.; methodology, A.L., F.A., A.J., T.R. and A.C.F.; software, A.L., F.A. and A.C.F.; writing--original draft preparation, A.L.; writing--review and editing, A.L., F.A., A.J., T.R., J.B., A.C.F. and E.L.; supervision, J.B. and E.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was supported by DRCT funds, under the project M1.1.C/PROJ.EXPLORATO RIOS/003/2022--PotBioCJap, and CESAM UIDB/50017/2020 + UIDP/50017/2020.  
Not applicable.  
The authors are grateful to Marques, S.A. from Sao Miguel Island, Azores, who provided the _Cryptomeria japonica_ samples. [PERSON] thanks FRCT for Doctoral Research Scholarships (ref. M3.1.a/F/008/2021). Thanks are due to FCT/MCTES for financial support to CESAM UIDB/50017/2020 + UIDP/50017/2020.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.