Abstract: Ojbective: To investigate the effect of Esculin extracted from Fraxinus sielboldiana blume belonging to the Oleaceae family on MPP⁺-induced cytotoxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.Methods: Cell viability was tested when treated with 200 μmol/L concentrations of MPP⁺ for 48 h by MTT assay.Early apoptosis,late apoptosis/necrosis were analyzed by flow cytometry using Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide（PI） staining,respectively.Generation of reactive oxygen species（ROS） was assessed by DCFH-DA,an oxidation-sensitive fluorescent probe.To evaluate mitochondrial membrane potential（ΔΨm） by using flow cytometry with the fluorescent dye Rhodamine 123.Results: The MPP⁺-induced loss of cell viability was significantly increased by Esculin treatment at the concentration of 10-7 mol/L,10^-6 mol/L,10^-5 and 10^-4mol/L.The protective effects of Esculin on MPP⁺-induced cytotoxicity might be ascribed to its anti-oxidative properties by reducing ROS level and anti-apoptotic effect on protection of ΔΨm.Conclusions: Esculin may provide a useful therapeutic strategy for the treatment of progressive neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease（PD）.