Abstract: OBJECTIVE To investigate the neuroprotective effect and the mechanism of Yueju alcohol extract (YJ-E) on chromaffin cells (PC12) injury in rats induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1，2，3，6-tetrahydropyridine ion (MPP⁺). METHODS PC12 cells were given 1 mmol MPP⁺ to establish Parkinson's disease (PD) model in vitro. The protective effects of YJ-E on PC12 cells were measured by MTT assay and Hoechst staining. The expression of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) and the phosphorylation of extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) were determined by Western blotting. RESULTS YJ-E (1.0， 2.0， 4.0 mg/mL) improved the survival of MPP⁺-injured PC12 cells significantly (P<0.01)， and displayed no significant effect on normal PC12 cells (P>0.05). Meanwhile， YJ-E up-regulated the expression of PACAP and the phosphorylation of ERK and CREB significantly (P<0.01) of MPP⁺-injured PC12 cells. CONCLUSION YJ-E shows promising neuroprotective effects on PC12 cells in MPP⁺-induced Parkinson's disease model， and the mechanism may be associated with the up-regulation of the expression of PACAP and the phosphorylation of downstream ERK and CREB.