Doctor attacks Prince Charles' tincture

LONDON, March 13 (UPI) -- Prince Charles of Britain was accused this week of "exploiting the gullible" with an herbal detoxification aid sold by his company, Duchy Originals.

Dr. Ezard Ernst of Peninsula Medical School, the first professor of complementary medicine in Britain, said that there is no evidence that the Detox Artichoke and Dandelion Tincture does what it is claimed to do, The Telegraph reported. The tincture sells for almost $14 for 1.69 ounces and buyers are told to take a half-teaspoonful in a glass of water twice a day.

"Prince Charles contributes to the ill health of the nation by pretending we can all overindulge, then take his tincture and be fine again," Ernst said. "Under the banner of holistic and integrative health care he thus promotes a 'quick fix' and outright quackery."

The prince is one of the world's best-known advocates of alternative or complementary medicine and has also made a cause of global warming, one of the major issues during his visit to South America this week. Ernst's attack on the tincture has provided new fodder for critics who point out that the prince has no more training in climate science than he does in medicine.