both chinese and american indian medical practices depend on many medicines , including plant medicines . the doctors who use these plants require training in how to identify the plants , prepare the medicines and use the medicines appropriately . chinese and american indian therapy can also depend on healing touch that is used to ease pain and cure diseases . both approaches to medicine are very practical , depend on the plants that are at hand and share some of the same elements of philosophy . the purpose of this writing is to put american indian ( chumash ) healing into a context that will make it more approachable to scientists . chumash people believe that all life first started on santa cruz island , a channel island off the coast of ventura , california ( 1 ) . there is scientific evidence that people came from asia to the american continent at several times in the distant past . although the times of the various crossings remain a subject of research and debate , it is clear that humans have been in the americas for tens of thousands of years ( 2,3 ) . these people brought with them tools , spiritual and medical knowledge , which could account for certain similarities between east - asian ( chinese ) and american indian health observances and practices . chinese medicine is an array of ideas and practices that were developed in china , or adapted from abroad , over the past 3000 years or more ( 46 ) . this historical dating does not necessary imply that the chinese did not have an oral tradition of health and safety practices prior to this . it only means that there are no known historical records prior to that date . due to the predominately unwritten nature of american indian medicine , the historical dating of some traditions , such as the medical practices of the chumash people of the southern coast of california , has been difficult for scientists . some anthropologists claim to find elements of spanish or other european traditions in chumash medical practices ( 1 ) . nonetheless , given that traditional narratives are passed down , usually from a person 's grandparents , with the expressed understanding that they will be maintained unchanged , it is probably accurate to assume that much of the current medicinal knowledge of the chumash and other american indians is of ancient origin . there has been some speculation that chinese may have visited california in 1423 and had a direct influence on california indians before the arrival of europeans . however , at least one historian claims that a chinese visit to california was unlikely ( 7 ) . if chinese did visit california , they had little impact , since no legends of such a visit exist among california indians . it is , however , very likely that polynesians visited california and other parts of the west coast of the american continent . hawaiians brought poppies , cotton and sweet potatoes from america to hawaii prior to the arrival of europeans , and left hawaiian banana plants in mexico ( 8) . polynesians may have taught chumash people how to make plank canoes 1500 years ago ( 9 ) . chinese contact with polynesians is a possibility ( 7 ) and may be an indirect way that chinese could have influenced chumash people . the chinese tradition is that the chinese ancestors used plants as medicines since the beginning of human existence . clearly , all human ancestors , all over the world , have evolved over the past several million years using plants as medicines . the core frame of reference in chinese medical practice is a combination of two key pattern categorization schemas ( 4 ) : a combinatorial inhibiting - activating model ( yin  yang ) , and an associative five - parameter network ( five - elements / agents ) . the yin  yang model emanates from ancient chinese metaphysics that views ontogenesis ( in the philosophical sense of the term ) as the product of a wavering between an inhibiting and an activating force , called yin and yang , and symbolized by a broken ( - - ) and a solid (  ) line , respectively . binary qualities , such as cold and hot , female and male , heaven and earth , find their respective counterparts in the yin this universal inhibiting - activating model can be applied to any domain of knowledge , including modern natural sciences and chemistry ( 10 ) . in chinese medicine , disease is predominantly perceived as a loss of an internal elemental / organic harmony ( 4,11 ) . this internal state is conceptualized using the five - element theory ( 11,12 ) . in this model , certain diseases are caused by excessive blood , lymph and qi stagnation that leads to what is known as heat ( inflammation ) . the flow of qi may be increased by increased flow of lymph or blood , or decreased by decreased flow of blood or lymph . other diseases are caused by a qi , lymph or blood deficiency known as cold , such as the common cold . treatments consist of restoring the lost internal balance and returning the patient to the normal elemental state . however , for the practice of medicine , it is useful to describe qi as the source of life and to recognize that it belongs to the body . qi can be described as life energy and is carried by channels throughout the body ( 11 ) . the five elements contain a pair of yin and yang , which are water and fire . however , the five elements are described as coming from yin and yang ( 4 ) . other vital aspects of chinese diagnosis are the patient history and pulse ( 11 ) . several pulses are recognized and are used to assess the perfusion of yang and qi to various organs . the pulse may be described in several terms such as thin , deep , slippery , thready , slow and rapid . the pulse is used to assess the flow of qi , blood and lymph throughout the organs . other diagnostic techniques for assessing the flow of yang and qi include the appearance of the tongue and swollen areas of the body . the appearance of the tongue is very important and may be described in many different ways such as pale , red , white greasy fur , thick yellow fur and thin white fur . swollen areas such as lymph nodes , cysts , breasts and pimples indicate areas of local obstruction of the flow of blood , lymph , milk or qi . although the treatment of a specific disease might be similar from one patient to another , there is considerable individualization . for instance , is a patient 's fever caused by exposure to too much exopathic wind heat , or a reaction to too much exposure to exopathic wind cold ? there is also considerable variation in the use of plants between doctors and between regions in china ( 13 ) . a patient with a disease caused by cold is treated with a plant that augments heat . a hot treatment may have adrenergic properties , which are manifested by an increased blood perfusion and heart rate . a cold treatment , on the contrary , may have cholinergic properties and can shunt the blood to vital organs , produce a pale complexion and slow the heart rate . the chumash believe that life and death are decided by the sun and sky coyote , called snilemun in chumash ( 9 ) . if the sun wins , the year will be hot and dry , food and medicine will be scarce and many people will die . if sky coyote wins , the year will be cool and wet , food and medicine will be abundant and people will survive . sky coyote is beneficial to humans , and is seen in the sky as the north star . knowing the position of sky coyote in the sky helps prevent people from becoming lost . he is a trickster according to legends and can sometimes cause floods and other problems . the chumash use ceremony and prayer to encourage the balance between the sun and sky coyote each year . sweat lodges are heated with fire and steam to treat sickness , especially colds , flus and pulmonary infections . the  antap ( healer ) takes a detailed history from the patient and relatives . the appearance of the patient 's eyes , tongue , the  antap may look intently into the patient 's eyes since the  antap 's eyes are mirrors that make patients see themselves and see the truth . the  antap may start with helping the patient to breathe more efficiently , by having the patient sing or suck on salvia apiana ( white sage ) . antap usually touches the patient to find the areas that are affected and the distant areas that may be causing the problem . for instance , if a patient complains of pain in the lower abdomen , the  antap may touch the back to find out if an imbalance in the back is causing pain in the abdomen . the purpose of medical treatment is to restore balance to the patient , since balance is health . a sprain resulting from too much heavy lifting may be treated with rest and casting the area with scirpus acutus ( tule ) . a cold from swimming in cold ocean water may be treated by heat treatments in the sweat lodge ( 1 ) . acupuncture consists of inserting one or more needles into specific points on the body surface for therapeutic purposes . this practice is generally believed to have originated in china , since sharpened stones and bones that date from about 8000 years ago have been interpreted as instruments for acupuncture treatment ( 1417 ) . nonetheless , tattoo marks seen on the  ice man who died in the alps about 5000 years ago and whose body was revealed when a glacier melted ( 18 ) , might indicate that acupuncture is not purely a chinese phenomenon , and that a form of it developed in europe quite independently of china but later disappeared ( 19,20 ) . the earliest chinese texts to mention channels ( i.e. meridians ) associated with diagnosis and treatment are dated around 150 bc ( 21,22 ) . these channels and points are not related to nerves , blood vessels or other anatomical features , although recent anatomical research indicates that acupuncture channels follow fascia lines . chinese believe that these meridians are energy lines that allow the flow of qi in the body . there are several methods and schools of thought regarding point selection : some apply needles directly to the painful site , some use distant non - painful sites and some use a combination of both sites . acupressure , the application of pressure to points , has also been used in china as a means of relieving pain and treating diseases . it is clear that acupuncture can increase the release of endogenous pain relieving ligands in the body , such as enkephalins and endorphins ( 25 ) . healing touch is used by the chumash to comfort , cure and relieve pain ( 27,28 ) . usually , the treatment of pain involves manipulation of non - painful body areas to relieve pain in distant sites . manipulation can involve the hands or deer antlers that are applied to sites to relieve pain . the areas that are treated to relieve distant pain are known to the healer from experience and from training by teachers . manipulation with deer antlers can involve the rounded or pointed parts of the antlers , and may be applied with pressure , depending on the condition of the patient . the chumash have not devised formal channels of energy flow in the body , but recognize that a balance of power in the body is essential to health and that power is constantly decreasing ( 27 ) . the chumash realize that water flows in the body . where the flow of water is interrupted , an area of inflammation and pain results . healing touch is used to manipulate non - painful areas since touch produces vortices in the body water that flow like waves to help establish flow in congested areas . chumash view power as incorporeal , not restricted to a body or object ( 27 ) . healing power can be transmitted to an object , such as a healing rock ( 1 ) . antap through prayer and treating the rock with powdered eriodictyon crassifolium ( yerba santa ) leaves in eel oil ( 1 ) . once the rock has been given power , the rock is wrapped in white down and can be used to heal people . by touching a sick person with the rock , this is the inverse of acupuncture where qi comes from the sick person ( 14 ) . acupuncture sometimes relies on moxibustion with artemisia argyi to heat the area being treated ( 29 ) . chumash use artemisia douglasiana ( formerly a. vulgaris ) as a way of cauterizing wounds ( 1 ) . chinese ethnobotany is a highly structured practice , based on combining medicinal plants , minerals and animal parts according to their taste , hot or cold properties and channel - action . plant medicine combination is based on the theory that natural medicines have complementary , synergistic and augmentative actions on each other . a chinese traditional prescription , is a highly structured , and hierarchical formula with elements named after the political positions of ancient china , and includes a chief ( king or emperor ) herb , a deputy ( magistrate ) , an assistant ( adjutant ) and an envoy ( messenger ) that collectively potentiate the therapy ( 11 ) . deputy herbs might increase the action of the chief herb or treat its unwanted effects , such as dry mouth or blurred vision . salvia apiana is added to almost any plant preparation in order to magnify the effects of the plant ( 28,30 ) . for instance , dan shen ( salvia miltiorrhiza ) is a very popular chinese medicinal plant . a chumash plant called chia ( salvia columbariae ) is essentially equivalent to s. miltiorrhiza and contains tanshinones and a salvianolic acid ( 32 ) . both plants are used in the treatment of heart attack , stroke and other conditions in china and california . table 1.california and chinese plant medicines  a comparison of their usescalifornia plantcalifornia usechinese plantchinese usemajor chemical constituentsachillea millefoliumpainachillea alpinaabdominal discomfort , antibacterialflavonoidsaesculus californicatoothaches , hemorrhoid painaesculus chinensispain , digestion , increased strength and circulationescinsallium haematochitonstings and bitesallium sativumantibacterial , anticancer , stroke and heart attackalliin , allicin , ajoeneapocynum cannabiniumintestinal and lung diseasesapocynum venetumliver disease , antihypertensive , diureticglycosides , flavanols , cardenolidesaquilegia formosadiarrhea , stomach acheaquilegia ecalcaratatoxin elimination , muscle growthflavonoids , alkaloids and glycosidesartemisia douglasianawound cauterizationartemisia argyimoxibustionmonoterpenoidsastragalus purshiimenstrual painastragalus membranaceusdiuretic , antidiabetic , immunostimulantcycloartane glycosides , flavones , sitosterolbaccharis pilularispoison oak rash , skin diseasesbaccharis indicaskin diseases , stomach acheflavones , diterpenoidsberberis aquifoliumgonorrheaberberis soulienaantibacterialberberine alkaloidsclematis ligusticifoliasore throat , pain , coldsclematis chinensispain , diuretic , antibacterialanemonin saponinsdatura wrightiianesthesia , pain , asthmadatura metelpain , asthma , arthritisscopolamine , hyoscyamineephedra californicabladder infections , colds , painephedra sinicaasthma , colds , headache , painpseudoephedrine alkaloidsgnaphalium californicumpain , colds , gi problemsgnaphalium affineantitussive , expectorant , asthmaflavonoids and diterpenoidsiris missouriensispain , venereal diseaseiris pallasiicanceriris quinonejuniperus californicacolds , fevers , constipation , painjuniperus chinensisdigestion , circulation , arthritisamentoflavone , hinokiflavone , cedrollobelia cardinalispain , lung problemslobelia chinensisdiureticlobeline , lobelanineoenothera elatabladder and yeast infectionsoenothera odoratafevers , coldsmonoterpenes , flavonoids , sterolsopuntia littoralispoultice for wounds , painopuntia dilleniipromotes circulation , diarrhea , burnstriterpenoids , beta - sitosterolpaeonia californicadepression , lung disease , painpaeonia lactiflorafever , pain , liver diseasepaeoniflorin , paeonolpapaver californicumpainpapaver somniferumpain , diarrheamorphine and papaverine alkaloidsprunus ilicifoliumcolds , flus , headachesprunus armenicapain , antitussiveflavonoids , amygdalinquercus lobatadiarrhea , painquercus acutissimadiarrhea , hemorrhoidsstarch , tanninsrhamnus californicapurging , constipationrhamnus crenatafever , antifungal , constipationanthraquinone glycosidesrhus trilobatacolds , stomach ache , soresrhus chinensisdiarrhea , gi infections , skin problemsflavones , salicylates , tanninsrosa woodsiidiarrhea , coldsrosa laevigatadiarrhea , astringentvitamin c , flavonols , tanninssalix lasiolepisfever , colds , pain , malariasalix babylonicagoiter , tuberculosis , expectorantsalicin , saligenin , iodinesalvia columbariaestroke , heart attacksalvia miltiorrhizastroke , heart attacktanshinones , salvianolic acidssambucus mexicanacolds , flussambucus chinensisarthritis , edema , diarrhea , bronchitisflavonoids , sterols , tannins , alkaloidsscirpus acutuscastsscirpus dichotomadiureticdihydrocyper - aquinonesolanum douglasiianesthesiasolanum nigrumantibacterial , diureticalkaloids , steroidsstachys bullatastomach ache , inflammationstachys baicalensisinflammation , bleeding disorders , diarrheaflavonoid glycosidessuaeda esteroasoapsuaeda glaucafever , blood circulationtriterpenoids , sterolsurtica dioicaarthritis painurtica angustifoliadigestion , painhistamine , serotonin , leukotrienesthe data in this table is a compilation of published data ( 30,37,38 ) . a comparison of their uses the data in this table is a compilation of published data ( 30,37,38 ) . in china , rice porridge is used for any condition involving diarrhea , such as the flu , and is definitely effective . rice porridge is frequently the first medicine given whenever a person becomes sick . the chumash use acorn porridge in the same way , to treat diarrhea ( 1 ) . the most popular oak acorns are from quercus agrifolia , quercus douglasii and quercus lobata ( 30 ) . some plants of the same genus are medically valuable , but are not used for similar purposes in china and california . for instance , allium haematochiton from california is used to treat bites and stings , mostly from insects . in china , the chinese have imported many american plants and grow them in china for use as medicines . agave sisalana , asclepias curassavica , cucurbita moschata , datura stramonium , helianthus annuus , hyptis suaveolens , nicotiana tabacum , panax quinquefolius and others from the american continent are now grown in china . papaver somniferum , from turkey and the orient , is grown in the usa as a source of morphine . the chumash recognize that each person has a spirit that is eternal and not bound to the body since it can travel to heaven ( similaqsa ) after death ( 27 ) . spirit is what gives humans hope , the will to do good deeds , inner strength and tranquility . sometimes the spirit forgets how to be well ( 30 ) and must be treated , usually with salvia apiana , in order to purify , calm and strengthen the spirit . when the spirit is rebalanced in this way , normal health can return . some chinese recognize a non - corporeal , eternal spirit in humans also ( 33 ) . the spirit has five components such as heart spirit that is involved in propriety and the ability to communicate properly , will that is involved in destiny and wisdom , non - corporeal soul that is involved in suffering and empathy and consciousness that is involved in motivation and creativity . the spirit can be treated by some chinese doctors in order to help a person regain purpose , will , empathy , creativity and other virtues . the chumash believe in an underworld that contains spirits called nunasis ( pronounced nunassus ) . the nunasis come out at night to create problems for people , including illness ( 27 ) . the doctor must be like the owl that flies at night with keen vision to see potential danger and prevent illness . chinese believe in ghosts , gwei in chinese , that are never born and will never die . these ghosts come out mostly at night to cause disease and other problems for people ( 4,34 ) . feng shui ( sometimes spelled feng swei ) techniques are used to divert ghosts from entering houses where they might harm people . of course there are dangers that fly at night , such as malaria - spreading mosquitoes . malaria was introduced into california in 1833 , killed 20 000 indians in california and was eradicated after the introduction of mosquito - killing ddt ( 30 ) . cold night winds can lead to exposure that may promote colds , flus , pneumonia and other diseases . many chinese believe that exposing the head to cold night wind will lead to illness such as arthritis . i believe in nothing. this beautiful song could easily be from a chinese philosophy book . chinese taoist philosophy teaches that excess wealth or knowledge is not good for people and may lead to disaster or illness ( 4 ) . a person who possesses great knowledge , such as healing knowledge , will soon lose that knowledge . therefore , it is best for the doctor to empty himself of knowledge and be ready to find a new remedy . i alone am drifting , not knowing where i am . like a newborn baby before it learns to smile , i am alone without a place to go . others have more than they need , but i alone have nothing. the quotation above is from the tao te ching ( 35 ) and was written > 2500 years ago by lao tzu , the founder of taoism . the  antap must be a servant of the people , must be virtuous and must be spiritual . although chumash healers are well paid for their work , they can not be greedy . an each individual in a village was vital to the survival of the village . if an antap failed to heal three patients in succession , the healer might be killed by the village leaders . when a village felt the healer had lost his ability to heal , it was time for the  antap to die ( 36 ) . the chumash view of nothingness is that the  antap and patient must empty themselves of preconceived ideas and be ready to accept spiritual guidance in the healing process . the  antap must be in a detached state and must accept that his current knowledge is nothing , or useless . this allows the  antap to create and the patient to accept the new treatment and possible healing . the chinese view of nothingness is that holding onto knowledge makes the doctor lose knowledge ( 4 ) . it is better for the patient and doctor to accept the disease and to approach healing without preconceived ideas . the doctor and patient are encouraged to be like water that flows where it must . this prepares the patient and doctor to accept the results of therapy . of course , chinese people used plants as medicines before taoism was conceptualized . the taoist approach to medicine is an old approach in china that is not as popular now as it was in the past . it is remarkable that two very divergent cultures , chinese and chumash , could have produced medical approaches that are similar in some ways . there is no question that chinese culture is based on a very strong central government and supports very large cities . however , both chinese and chumash medical practices are very practical and put patient treatment and cure as the foremost objectives . could the chinese have come to california in 1423 and had a direct influence on chumash people ? however , it is remarkable that artemisia fibers are used similarly by chinese and chumash people . it is possible that chumash people learned from the chinese how to use artemisia fibers . however , chinese medicine retains the traditional uses of plants , acupuncture , feng shui and other practices . . however , like the chinese , chumash people retain their use of traditional plant medicines , healing touch and other practices that have always been used by their ancestors . there has been some criticism of traditional chinese medicine from a scientific point of view ( 33 ) . is it a science ? if we mean by science the relatively recent intellectual and technological development in the west , chinese medicine is not scientific. chumash medicine could be criticized on the same basis . it is certainly true that chinese traditional medicine and chumash medicine are not limited to the narrow confines of current american scientific fads , such as knock out mice , polymerase chain reaction technology and other molecular biology techniques . scientific observations are used to form theories that can be applied to the betterment of the human condition . the chinese have empirically and quantitatively observed patients and have formed theories that are useful in curing disease . there is no question that chinese medicine works , since chinese people still exist today . chumash medicine is also a scientific approach to curing patients and returning them to productive lives . it is very fortunate that chinese and chumash healing have produced theories of disease causation that differ from western theories . this provides an opportunity for scientists to examine alternative approaches to disease causation and treatment that are not being currently used in western hospitals .
chinese and chumash traditional medical approaches are similar in terms of disease causation , use of acupuncture or healing touch , plants , spiritual and philosophical approaches . 
 this article provides a brief comparison and discussion of chinese and chumash traditional medical practices . 
 a table of 66 plants is presented along with chinese and chumash uses of each plant . 
 these uses are compared and contrasted .