¹Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, USA DOI : 10.29228/jrp.383 Diet rich with vegetables, fruit and herbs has been associated with lowering the risk of noncommunicable aging associated diseases. Vitamins, minerals and certain dietary factors present in unprocessed plantbased products have been considered to be responsible for beneficial effects of dietary patterns rich in these products. Oxidized fatty acids and their derivatives have been previously shown to play an important role in signaling in many different cell types. We hypothesize that other classes of membrane associated lipophilic compounds together with n-3 fatty acid oxidation products play important role in cellular signaling. The following are several examples of compounds that are stable soft electrophiles or form stable soft electrophiles upon oxidation: flavonoids, vitamin E vitamers, numerous carotenoids or omega-3 fatty acids. All these compounds have been associated with lowering the risk of aging-associated diseases, by for example actively targeting inflammatory responses. Our work identified a specific group of lipophilic soft electrophiles that exert protection in Drosophila and mammalian models of Parkinson’s disease. Our data unravel specific structural features of selected electrophiles that are essential for signaling activity. Lipidomic and proteomic experiments further indicate that essential soft electrophiles interact with electrophile-responsive regulatory cellular proteins especially rich in reactive nucleophiles such as cysteine residues. Soft electrophilic molecules modulate cellular activity through non-enzymatic post-translational modifications, previously mostly considered as indicators of oxidative/metabolic stress and disease. I will discuss the evidence that lipophilic soft electrophiles associating with cell membranes may also play an essential role in human nutrition, following the concept of vitamin P proposed by the discoverer of vitamin C. Dr. Szent-Györgyi. Keywords : soft electrophile, essential nutrient, diet, phytochemical