Norwegian biologist Frode Ødegaard recorded a total of 78 phytophagous (plant-eating) insect species on a single "F. maxima" tree in Panamanian dry forest—59 wood eating insects, 12 which fed on green plant parts, and 7 flower visitors. It supported the fourth most specialised phytophagous insect fauna and the second largest wood-feeding insect fauna among the 24 tree species sampled. "Ficus maxima" is used by the Lacandon Maya to treat snakebite. Leaves are moistened by chewing and applied to the bite. In the provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe in Ecuador, a leaf infusion is used to treat internal inflammations. The Paya of Honduras use the species for firewood, and to treat gingivitis. The Tacana of Bolivia use the latex to treat intestinal parasites, as do people in Guatemala's Petén Department. In Brazil it is used as an anthelmintic, antirheumatic, anti-anaemic and antipyretic. The latex is also used to bind limestone soils to produce cal, an adobe cement. Gaspar Diaz M. and colleagues isolated four methoxyflavones from "F. maxima" leaves. David Lentz and colleagues observed antimicrobial activity in "Ficus maxima" extracts.