Oxidative stress is the hallmark of several pathologies like arthritis, hypertension and many neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. In this scenario, antioxidant compounds can play a pivotal role in treating these severe pathologies. The synthesis of molecules able to mimic physiologically-relevant proteins is nowadays of particular interest. Several transition metal complexes, especially manganese(III) complexes with porphyrin and salen-type ligands, have been reported to be superoxide scavengers. Here we report the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of manganese(III) complexes of 5[4-(6-O-β-cyclodextrin)-phenyl],10,15,20-tri(4-hydroxyphenyl)-porphyrin and of 6(A)-deoxy-6(A)[(S-cysteamidobenzoyl(3,4-diamino)-N,N'-bis(salicylidene))]-β-cyclodextrin. The superoxide dismutase activity of the metal complexes was investigated by indirect methods. The catalase and peroxidase activities were tested using ABTS assays.