Probiotics are functional foods with a wide armamentarium of health benefits in man including metal chelation. Given the unacceptable blood lead levels and the near ignorance or negligence of heavy metals in both diagnoses and management of diseases in Nigeria, it is feared that these metals are involved in the aetiogenesis of several ailments from preeclampsia, metabolic syndrome, cancer, etc. This is an insight on Nigerian fermented foods and their possible role as metal chelators in the management of the chronic heavy metal exposure in Nigeria. One hundred and five articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Google scholar, PubMed and SCOPUS were searched for articles reporting fermented foods and probiotics in Nigeria. Only studies published in English Language were included, but there was no limitation in year of study. One hundred and five articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Studies from some African countries suggest that fermented foods of probiotics relevance have effectively shown metal chelation properties. Consumption of Nigerian fermented foods may hold a promise in checking the high body burden of heavy metals in Nigeria. Graphic abstract.
Keywords: Bifidobacteria; Chelation; Fermented foods; Heavy metals; Lactobacillus; Probiotics.