A Canadian sports doctor of Maltese descent, Anthony Galea, has been charged in the US over a doping scandal involving high profile athletes.

According to US media reports, Dr Galea, a consultant to sports stars such as controversial golfer Tiger Woods, injected professional athletes all over the US with human growth hormone and performance enhancing drugs.

After eight months of investigation, he was charged in a federal criminal court with smuggling, conspiring to lie to federal officials, unlawful distribution of human growth hormones, introducing the unapproved drug Actovegin into interstate commerce and conspiracy to defraud the US.

The American sports cable TV network ESPN quoted Dr Galea's lawyer saying it was regrettable that a "world renowned and respected sports medicine physician" now faced these charges.

"Dr Galea looks forward to the opportunity to respond to these allegations at the appropriate time," he said.

The US-Canadian smuggling investigation started soon after Dr Galea's executive assistant was flagged at the Buffalo border crossing last September with a bagful of medical supplies, including growth hormone.

Canadian newspaper The Star Phoenix described 51-year-old Dr Galea as a "maverick" who only some time after he was probed was promoting alternative medicine at a conference.

He said that unnecessary regulation of new treatment methods threatens to "destroy sports" because conventional treatment of athletic injuries has been largely limited to rest, ice, compression and elevation.

His supporters say Dr Galea "plays by the rules" but is not afraid to push the boundaries, using platelet-rich plasma therapy to treat athletes' torn tendons and ligaments.

"The therapy involves drawing blood from the patient, separating the blood in a spinning machine, taking the portion of the blood that is rich with platelets - or 'growth factors' - and injecting it back into the injured area," the newspaper reported.