diff --git a/lib/api/messages.js b/lib/api/messages.js
index 9dced021..061533eb 100644
--- a/lib/api/messages.js
+++ b/lib/api/messages.js
@@ -597,6 +597,8 @@ module.exports = (db, server, messageHandler) => {
                 draft: true,
                 attachments: true,
                 html: true,
+                text: true,
+                textFooter: true,
                 forwardTargets: true
             }
         }, (err, messageData) => {
@@ -665,12 +667,18 @@ module.exports = (db, server, messageHandler) => {
                 expires = new Date(messageData.rdate).toISOString();
             }
 
+            messageData.text = (messageData.text || '') + (messageData.textFooter || '');
+
             if (replaceCidLinks) {
                 messageData.html = (messageData.html || []).map(html =>
                     html.replace(/attachment:([a-f0-9]+)\/(ATT\d+)/g, (str, mid, aid) =>
                         server.router.render('attachment', { user, mailbox, message, attachment: aid })
                     )
                 );
+
+                messageData.text = messageData.text.replace(/attachment:([a-f0-9]+)\/(ATT\d+)/g, (str, mid, aid) =>
+                    server.router.render('attachment', { user, mailbox, message, attachment: aid })
+                );
             }
 
             let ensureSeen = done => {
@@ -708,6 +716,7 @@ module.exports = (db, server, messageHandler) => {
                     flagged: messageData.flagged,
                     draft: messageData.draft,
                     html: messageData.html,
+                    text: messageData.text,
                     forwardTargets: messageData.forwardTargets,
                     attachments: (messageData.attachments || []).map(attachment => {
                         attachment.url = server.router.render('attachment', { user, mailbox, message, attachment: attachment.id });
diff --git a/lib/consts.js b/lib/consts.js
index 0651a275..b47c31fd 100644
--- a/lib/consts.js
+++ b/lib/consts.js
@@ -19,8 +19,12 @@ module.exports = {
     MAILBOX_COUNTER_TTL: 24 * 3600,
 
     SCHEMA_VERSION: '1.0',
-    // how much plaintext to store. this is indexed with a fulltext index
-    MAX_PLAINTEXT_CONTENT: 2 * 1024,
+
+    // how much plaintext to store in a full text indexed field
+    MAX_PLAINTEXT_INDEXED: 2 * 1024,
+
+    // how much plaintext to store before truncating
+    MAX_PLAINTEXT_CONTENT: 100 * 1024,
 
     // how much HTML content to store. not indexed
     MAX_HTML_CONTENT: 300 * 1024,
diff --git a/lib/message-handler.js b/lib/message-handler.js
index 2f875fb6..f8611b56 100644
--- a/lib/message-handler.js
+++ b/lib/message-handler.js
@@ -191,12 +191,37 @@ class MessageHandler {
 
                         if (maildata.text) {
                             messageData.text = maildata.text.replace(/\r\n/g, '\n').trim();
+
                             // text is indexed with a fulltext index, so only store the beginning of it
+                            if (messageData.text.length > consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_INDEXED) {
+                                messageData.textFooter = messageData.text.substr(consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_INDEXED);
+                                messageData.text = messageData.text.substr(0, consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_INDEXED);
+
+                                // truncate remaining text if total length exceeds maximum allowed
+                                if (
+                                    consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_CONTENT > consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_INDEXED &&
+                                    messageData.textFooter.length > consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_CONTENT - consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_INDEXED
+                                ) {
+                                    messageData.textFooter = messageData.textFooter.substr(0, consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_CONTENT - consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_INDEXED);
+                                }
+                            }
                             messageData.text =
                                 messageData.text.length <= consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_CONTENT
                                     ? messageData.text
                                     : messageData.text.substr(0, consts.MAX_PLAINTEXT_CONTENT);
-                            messageData.intro = messageData.text.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
+
+                            messageData.intro = messageData.text
+                                // assume we get the intro text from first 2 kB
+                                .substr(0, 2 * 1024)
+                                // remove quoted parts
+                                // "> quote from previous message"
+                                .replace(/^>.*$/gm, '')
+                                // remove lines with repetetive chars
+                                // "---------------------"
+                                .replace(/^\s*(.)\1+\s*$/gm, '')
+                                // join lines
+                                .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')
+                                .trim();
                             if (messageData.intro.length > 128) {
                                 let intro = messageData.intro.substr(0, 128);
                                 let lastSp = intro.lastIndexOf(' ');