MDA content was measured by the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method described by Hodges et al. (1999). One gram of spathe was homogenized with 25 mL of 5% (w/v) trichloroacetic acid (TCA). The mixture was centrifuged for 10 min at 10000 × g. TBA reactivity was determined by adding 2.5 mL of 0.5% TBA in 15% TCA to 1.5 mL of the supernatant. The reaction solution was held for 30 min in bath containing boiling water, then cooled quickly and finally centrifuged at 12000 × g for 10 min to clarify the solution. Absorbance was measured at 532 nm and corrected for non-specific turbidity by subtracting the absorbance at 600 nm, calculated with an extinction coefficient of 1.55 nmol L−1 m−1. MDA content was expressed as nmol g−1 spathe fresh weight (FW).