A new class of biosurfactants, namely quaternary ammonium sophorolipids (SQAS), suitable for pharmaceutical applications, was tested for the evaluation of their (anti)estrogenic and (anti)androgenic potency with the help of YES/YAS assays. Also their toxicity towards yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and bacteria (Escherichia coli) was checked. The results achieved for SQAS, which can be regarded as potential micropollutants, were compared with those obtained for two well-known micropollutants diclofenac and 17α-ethinylestradiol subjected to the same testing procedures. This work demonstrated that acetylation of the hydroxyl group of the carbohydrate head of SQAS decreased the toxicity of this class of biosurfactants towards Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Furthermore, it contributed to the decrease of their endocrine disrupting potency. None of the SQAS studied showed clear agonist activity for female or male hormones. SQAS1 and SQAS2 revealed weak antiestrogenic and antiandrogenic potency. All of these properties were weaker, not only to the potency of the appropriate positive control in the antagonists bioassays, but also compared to the potency of other tested compounds, i.e. DCF and EE2. SQAS3 possessed most probably inhibitory activity towards male hormones. Moreover, cytotoxicity of two out of four studied SQAS at the highest concentrations towards the strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae interfered with the endocrine disruption activity. It would be also worth studying it with the use of another endocrine activity test.

一类新型生物表面活性剂，即季铵槐糖脂 (SQAS)，适用于制药应用，通过 YES/YAS 测定来评估其（抗）雌激素和（抗）雄激素功效。还检查了它们对酵母（酿酒酵母）和细菌（大肠杆菌）的毒性。 SQAS（可被视为潜在的微污染物）所获得的结果与经过相同测试程序的两种著名微污染物双氯芬酸和17α-炔雌醇所获得的结果进行了比较。这项工作表明，SQAS 碳水化合物头部羟基的乙酰化降低了此类生物表面活性剂对酿酒酵母的毒性。此外，它还导致其内分泌干扰能力下降。研究的 SQAS 均未显示出明显的雌性或雄性激素激动剂活性。 SQAS1和SQAS2显示出较弱的抗雌激素和抗雄激素效力。所有这些特性均较弱，不仅与拮抗剂生物测定中适当阳性对照的效力相比，而且与其他测试化合物（即DCF和EE2）的效力相比也是如此。 SQAS3很可能具有对雄性激素的抑制活性。此外，所研究的四分之二的 SQAS 在最高浓度下对酿酒酵母菌株的细胞毒性干扰了内分泌干扰活性。通过使用另一种内分泌活性测试来研究它也是值得的。