Aims: Consumption of fermented foods are known to provide various health benefits. The present study was aimed to isolate novel potent probiotic strains from the homemade fermented Indian recipe Moor Kuzhambu and Pickle and its characterization to elucidate the efficacy of isolate in cholesterol and heavy metal reduction. Methodology and results: Cultures isolated from Pickle (CK2) and Moor Kuzhambu (CK3) were identified as different strains of Pediococcus pentosaceus using the 16S rDNA sequence-based bacterial identification method. The study analysed the survival of probiotic strains under the influence of various chemical and natural stimulants. The isolated strains exhibited tolerance to gastric juice and were able to exhibit a broad range of tolerance to varying temperatures, pH, NaCl, solvent, phenol, trypsin and artificial gastric juice. Microencapsulation studies were conducted using alginate and chitosan to increase the shelf life of the isolated probiotic. Preliminary analysis regarding cell surface studies such as autoaggregation, co-aggregations and cell surface hydrophobicity determined the ability of the strains to aggregate on to intestinal cell surface and manifest competitive pathogen displacement. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Remarkable biofilm reduction of 48% to 80% was observed in the probiotic-supplemented samples. Similarly, a reduction of 80% to 85% free cholesterol was noted in cholesterol assimilation assays and heavy metal (Cu + , Pb + , Zn + and Fe + ) assimilation ability was observed. Further studies are required to characterize the nature of the secretory products and their mode of action in the survival and immune enhancement in animal models.