In their reports, AST induces the expression of apoptotic proteins, such as caspase-3, caspase-9, p21, etc. Nan et al. reported that the strong antioxidant activity of AST efficiently scavenges ROS, which is excessively generated in the cochlea, and then protects patients with cisplatin-induced hearing loss (CIHL) [52]. Here, CASP9 is linked to hearing loss disorder.