INTEGRATED IN-SILICO AND MACHINE LEARNING – BASED PREDICTION OF OTOPROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF Mentha spicata

Aminoglycoside antibiotics such as neomycin are widely used clinically but cause irreversible 
sensorineural hearing loss through oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis 
of cochlear hair cells. This study investigated the otoprotective potential of Mentha spicata 
phytoconstituents, particularly rosmarinic acid, against neomycin-induced ototoxicity using an 
integrated in silico approach. The ethanolic leaf extract was evaluated for antioxidant activity 
by DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Network pharmacology analysis was performed using 
SwissTargetPrediction, GeneCards, Venny 2.1, STRING, and Cytoscape to identify common 
drug–disease targets and enriched pathways. Molecular docking was carried out using 
AutoDock to assess binding affinity, followed by SwissADME profiling and AI-based 
prediction. The extract exhibited dose-dependent antioxidant activity, with scavenging rising 
from 19% to 69% across 1–50 mg/ml.