282 Bulletin UASVM, Veterinary Medicine 66(2)/2009 ISSN 1843-5270; Electronic ISSN 1843-5378 Experimental Models Regarding Cardiovascular Diseases Prevention through Guided Diet Marian MIHAIU 1) , Viorel MICLAUS 1) , Ovidiu ROTARU 1) , Sorin Daniel DAN 1) , Romolica MIHAIU 2) , Alexandra LAPUSAN 1) , Raluca Florina GHERMAN 1) , Crina CORBEANU 1) , Carmen JECAN 1) 1) University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 3- 5 Calea Manastur Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; m.mihaiufmv@yahoo.com 2) Babes Bolyai University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, 57-58 Teodor Mihaly Street, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; mromi19@yahoo.com Abstract. Consumers are becoming more aware of the impact on their health of the food they eat. One of the possible ways to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is consuming more polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly n-3 fatty acids. This study was undertaken to determine whether omega-3 fatty acids have effects on the serum level of cholesterol and triglycerides and anatomopathologic changes. Twenty-one Guinea pigs (12 weeks old) were randomly assigned to and fed a normal, high fat (0.5 % cholesterol) without (CD) or with Omega-3 (COD) diet for 12 weeks. The CD diet increased serum triglycerides, total and LDL cholesterol levels by 50.28%, 50.51% and 40.98 % respectively. Adding Omega-3 (0.6 mg/kg) in diet reduced the serum level of total cholesterol (59mg/dl vs. 39 mg/dl), triglycerides (94 mg/dl vs. 41 mg/dl) and LDL-C (45 mg/dl vs. 31 mg/dl). The animals fed with CD diet developed fibrosis of myocardium and artery besides those fed with COD diet where it was a marked reduction in coronary degenerative lesions from myocardium. We conclude that in our experimental model, dietary n-3 PUFAs decrease the development of coronary artery diseases, through changes in serum levels and anatomopathologic aspects. Keywords: diet, coronary diseases, fatty acids, serum level, Omega-3 INTRODUCTION Reducing intake of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol and avoiding excess calories, remain the cornerstone of the dietary approach to decreasing risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease. During the past 20 years, however, there has been renewed interest in other dietary components that might favorably improve lipid profiles and reduce risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). (Stone, 1996). Dietary intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), mostly derived from fish or as pharmacological supplements, is associated epidemiologically with cardiovascular protection. Randomized intervention trials have shown that n-3 PUFA reduce mortality endpoints, specifically sudden death and fatal myocardial infarction. (Albert et al, 2002; Kris-Etherton et al, 2002) Many studies have reported a negative relation between intake of omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) and CVD incidence and/or mortality (Osler et al., 2003; Ervin et al., 2004; Psota et al., 2006). Omega-3 PUFAs generally exert their cardioprotective effects through changes in lipids and lipoproteins. In addition, Omega-3 FAs especially EPA and DHA contribute benefits through their antiarrhythmic, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic effects. Moreover, EPA and DHA also improve vascular endothelial function and help lower blood pressure, platelet sensitivity (Wijendran and Hayes, 2004).