EN
The present work is designed to investigate the concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) and physico-chemical properties including pH, conductivity, salinity, total dissolved solid (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), and specific gravity that were analyzed in fresh bovine milk samples sold in various towns of District East, Karachi. Statistical techniques, including cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA), were performed to organize the recorded data in such a way as to expose the internal structure of multivariate data matrix. Results of PCA revealed that conductivity, salinity, and TDS possessed strong relationships with each other. The levels of heavy metals were assessed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The mean concentrations of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb were assessed as 0.001-0.232 mg/l, 0.001-0.460 mg/l, 0.001-3.260 mg/l, 0.001-0.108 mg/l, 0.001-0.122 mg/l, 0.001-0.098 mg/l, 2.086-5.498 mg/l, 0.001-0.053 mg/l, and 0.001-1.428 mg/l, respectively. Remarkable numbers of samples were found to be contaminated with Cd and Pb and exceeded the tolerable guidelines set by standards.